Heard of Nicole + Felicia Couture? This Taiwanese fashion brand dressed Taylor Swift, JLo, Lady Gaga

Even if you haven’t heard of Nicole + Felicia Couture, you would have seen its creations. The Taiwan-based label’s breathtaking gowns have been worn by A-listers including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez.

Swift wore an embellished bespoke Nicole + Felicia gown at the Los Angeles stop of her Eras Tour and a lilac crystal embellished gown at the Kansas City stop. Lady Gaga reached for their gowns on several occasions during her residency in Las Vegas in 2023. Lopez wore their pink bustier gown with rosettes at the Golden Globes this year.

In Singapore, its gowns – whether bridal or evening wear – are a favourite with the movers and shakers of the socialite circle. Celebrities at the most recent instalment of the annual Star Awards were also dressed in Nicole + Felicia Couture: Jernelle Oh wore an elegant, sequinned confection of a gown, while Jesseca Liu stunned in a head-turning black number accented with sleeves of voluminous white roses, which was one of the most memorable gowns seen at the event.

Liu’s floral ensemble was reminiscent of the resplendent Nicole + Felicia pink gown that Jennifer Lopez wore to the Golden Globes Awards this January – except that JLo had a long train and larger florals to match the grandeur of the occasion. So impactful was the look that Lopez flaunted yet another similar creation by the brand for her performance on Saturday Night Live just a month later, this time, a cape-styled gown fully cloaked in huge pink roses. 

Clearly, the floral theme is a signature of the brand – but that’s just only one of the many elements that makes up its DNA, as CNA Lifestyle learnt from Nicole Chang, one of two sisters who are behind the fashion label.

One quality that all its creations consistently possess, however, is that wow factor – which explains why it’s the brand of choice for so many celebrities who want to step out making an unforgettable impression.

CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH

The label was started in Taiwan in 2015 by Chang and her sister, Felicia, but is now mainly steered by the former, since her sibling is currently more tied up with their family’s business – which, unsurprisingly, is in the luxury bridal wear category.

“Our parents have been in the wedding gown production business for about 30 years, so, growing up, we’ve always been involved in it and exposed to this environment – seeing the seamstresses work in the office, the whole design process, how fashion brands work and so on. It’s like we were picking up the ropes from a very young age,” said Chang.

Despite having had this exposure, she doesn’t think it necessarily gave them a head start when she started Nicole + Felicia with her sister. “It definitely helped, though, in terms of the operational aspects, such as knowing how production works. I consider myself very lucky that we had a factory background – it did help us a lot since manufacturing is a big part of fashion and bridal brands,” she explained.

The duo studied economics and have no formal fashion training, although practical observation of how the fashion business works in their early years and a keen sense of style have proved to be just as useful on their entrepreneurial journey. On the design front, Chang works with a team of designers and is very involved in the creative process, whether it be for a bespoke or off-the-rack creation.

CRAFTING THE FINERY

While most people identify the brand by its dramatic and heavily embellished styles worn by celebrities, Chang wouldn’t say that Nicole + Felicia Couture’s design codes veer towards the maximalist.

“Yes, we do push the boundaries. I know everyone knows us for our grand styles and our elaborate beading, but instead of describing them with the term ‘more is more’, I think our focus is really on the craft behind all our creations. If you look at the details of, say, a large ballgown that appears to be really simple – the corsetry, details, boning and seams… it’s actually all incredibly complex, even though it appears to be simple,” said Chang.

The brand’s strong suit is evidently in the silhouette of its gowns. “They have very sleek and flattering lines. When it comes to a ballgown – like one that has a long train, it’s very ‘picturesque’, and if you take photos of it from afar, you see that grand, sculptural silhouette and outline. That’s one of our signatures, and why many of our clients, celebrity or not, come to us – they’re looking for that really exaggerated and bold silhouette,” added Chang.

MAKING A BIG STATEMENT FOR SWIFT

Drama was definitely what Taylor Swift was seeking when deciding on her wardrobe for her I Bet You Think About Me music video, released in 2021. In it, she wore two spectacular Nicole + Felicia Couture gowns as she crashed an ex-boyfriend’s wedding in the video – one white and the other crimson, with both sporting grand trains completely covered in no less than 2,500 tulle floral appliques.

This was followed by three other gowns by the brand that Swift wore on stage during her Eras Tour (which kicked off last year) – in gold, lilac, and blue – all of which are equally show-stopping in different ways, whether in terms of the silhouette or decorative embellishments.

Naturally, these gowns that were made for her were some of the most time-consuming pieces that the brand has produced – besides requiring hundreds of yards of fabric and tens of thousands of sequins and beads, the hand work takes up to thousands of hours to complete within the given time frame.

Chang’s team worked with Swift’s stylist, Joseph Cassell, on these looks, taking a collaborative approach to fine-tuning them to suit the requirements of the star. Cassell had seen Nicole + Felicia’s creations in a showroom before, liked what he saw and approached the brand – and that was how it all began.

“They were very impressed with how well and speedily we were able to work together with them, even though we were based in Asia, and they were all the way in LA. So, through the process, we built a very good relationship with her team,” shared Chang.

STAR ATTRACTION

Before Taylor Swift came to be its client, Nicole + Felicia Couture had already been dressing the glitterati in Hollywood, a result of getting representation from PR firms in Los Angeles in order to get a foot in the celebrity dressing-room door, so to speak.

To date, some of the other famous folks who have been seen in the brand include Gwen Stefani, Naomi Campbell, Halle Bailey, Chrissy Teigen and Christina Aguilera – it’s a clientele list that can rival that of the Parisian haute couture houses. Needless to say, it has also dressed countless celebrities in Taiwan and Asia – they include Hannah Quinlivan, Dee Hsu, Lin Chi-ling and Angelababy.

One might think that only a massive team could accomplish what the brand has achieved so far, but Chang revealed that, in reality, everything is handled by about 30 staff members – inclusive of designers, seamstresses and assistants that make up the core Nicole + Felicia Couture team.

Brides-to-be in Singapore who’d love to wear a Nicole + Felicia Couture piece on their big day can find its gowns at luxury bridal shop The Ivory. If you should, however, be dreaming of a grand, bespoke creation and have the budget for it, get in touch with the brand directly – good news, there isn’t a waiting list despite its popularity.