By MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
The clothing brand Nerdy Chic popped up on a couple of Connecticut fashion runways these past few months.
And as the models strutted their stuff, the clothes caught the eye of many fashionistas sitting in the audiences.
However, in addition to the attention drawn by the clothing, the designer herself also caught a good deal of attention as well—especially since she is 14 years old.
Lyric Chaya Miller, a New Haven, Conn. resident attending Wilbur Cross High School, is the driving force behind Nerdy Chic.
Lyric was indoctrinated into the world of fashion at an age where most girls are hitting the soccer field dribbling a ball or standing at the barre in dance class working on their plies.
“My parents enrolled me into Pure Noire Modeling Coterie in New Haven at 9 years old,” said Lyric in an email interview. “PNMC is a summer camp that focuses on hygiene, conflict resolution, confidence, peer pressure, appearance, speech and articulation three to five days a week. The other… days are devoted to photo shoots and runway preparation to help with confidence, which I struggled with at the time.”
“At the end of the summer, we have a big fashion show,” said Lyric.
“I really loved the designer’s personalities and how creative they were,” said Lyric of the experience.
“Being a designer looked fun. I just kept thinking to myself ‘I can do that,’” said Lyric. “So I told my parents and my dad helped me start my business.”
Lyric’s heroes in the world of fashion all hail from Connecticut, she explained.
“All of the local designers that inspired me at the PNMC Fashion Shows like Amorette Weeks, Aqulia Yannic, and Missy Cheeks (are my heroes),” said Lyric, who won the Philadelphia Kids Fashion Week Entrepreneurship Award in 2016. “Missy was especially helpful as she was able to bring my first designs to life as she was worked as the seamstress for my first collection.”
As for her design aesthetic, the teen said, “I transform traditional nerdy/preppy garments into versatile contemporary pieces utilizing different fabric, bold colors, and/or patterns.”
Leather is one of her favorite fashion mediums, Lyric explained. “There is so much you can do with it. I also like that the natural skin pattern is never the same.”
Additionally, she said, “I also like the feel of suede and silk.”
At the runway shows this year, Nerdy Chic – which has become a family affair with dad Terrence Miller providing business guidance, step mom Crystal Razor-Miller helping with hair and makeup, and sister Taryn Miller heading up marketing direction– showed everything from sweatshirts, shirt dresses, jackets, and a tuxedo pant suit.
The Nerdy Chic girl, said Lyric, is “intelligent, outgoing, fun, and charismatic. Determined and never afraid to challenge the status quo. Most importantly, a Nerdy Chic woman/girl is always true to herself.”
Lyric, who had an earlier fashion line called Lyric Chaya Couture, is hoping after high school she can “further my education in the arts, design, and/or business after high school. I will continue to build my brand until it becomes a household name.”
For more information about Nerdy Chic, go to www.NerdyChic.co or follow her on Facebook at @NerdyChic17 and Pinterest, and Instagram at @NerdyChic2017.
Models: Taylor Plourd of Bristol, Conn. Jade Soto of Hartford, Conn.
Hair and makeup: A Radiant You by Crystal Razor-Miller.
Photography: Mike Chaiken
Photographed in Bristol, Conn.
