Nicky Vankets was born on May 12, 1979 in Belgium and knew what he wanted to do in life at a very young age. Playing with Barbie dolls while his friends played outside and hanging out in the ateliers of the house of Mathyro surrounded by fabrics, scissors and needles, he fell in love with fashion. After the disappointment of being declined admission to the Royal Academy of Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, he decided to take a chance and move to London. He told his mother he wanted to study at the same school as Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano. At 18, he moved into his London apartment near Waterloo Station and began studying at the London College of Fashion. Four years later in 2001, he presented his Final Assessment Project on the catwalk of London Fashion Week and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Design and Technology for the Fashion Industry.
Returning home after college, Nicky dreamt about going global and started applying at the most famous designer houses in the world. In 2002, he managed to get an appointment with the HR department of Armani and they advised him to use his knowledge to start his own label and brand. After much thought, Nicky decided to take their advice. Having already designed for his parents’ company in the previous years, he started using his own name as a label and the brand NICKY VANKETS was born.
Starting with designing wedding dresses, he soon was bursting with creativity and new collections and new lines sprung from his imagination. The Belgian entertainment industry noticed the
young designer’s talent and Nicky started designing for musicians and other celebrities.
The Miss Belgium organisation asked Nicky to design the evening gowns for the their miss to wear at the Miss Universe and Miss World elections.
Natthida makes exclusive, hand-made, high quality evening, cocktail and wedding dresses. The store is located in the city center of Antwerp in Belgium. NATTHIDA is an experienced designer and seamstress of all types of dresses.