IT'S a match made in tailoring heaven: this autumn, London-based designer Richard Nicoll will lend his creative hand to a new line of womenswear for renowned shirt-makers, Thomas Pink.

"I had a reputation for being 'king of the shirts', so it was a natural collaboration," Nicoll tells WWD of the nine-piece collection, which comprises dresses, shirts and skirts in a combination of silk and satin. "It was my intention to do something more soft and fluid as my signature is more structured pieces."

"Richard has added a leading edge [to the collection], he has a very good eye," Thomas Pink president and chief executive, Jonathan Heilbron, says of the collaboration, which comes as part of a wider company expansion plan - eight stores have been opened this year with more in the pipeline.

The collection will be available in London from Selfridges, from August.