Nicky Hilton unveils new fashion line

updated 10:36 a.m. ET Feb. 27, 2006

LAS VEGAS - Amid gawking stargazers and a grinding mix of ’70s rock, socialite/designer Nicky Hilton unveiled her new upscale fashion line at a hip Las Vegas nightclub.

Nicky Hilton Beverly Hills is the sequel to Hilton’s Chick, a tween-targeted casual wear line that was launched in 2004.

The runway at her show early Friday was hastily erected after midnight on the packed dance floor of the Light nightclub at the Bellagio hotel-casino. The models strutted to AC/DC mixed with Toni Basil’s ’80s hit “Mickey,” changed to “Oh Nicky.”

Hilton, 22, said her latest creations are “clothes my friends and I could wear,” adding that her designs will sell for far less than what she and her friends could afford to pay.

“This ain’t Prada,” said the hotel heiress, who is the sister of “The Simple Life” co-star Paris Hilton.

She was one of several celebrities promoting their clothing lines at the MAGIC fashion industry trade show this week. Along with actress Jaime Pressly, hip-hop star Nelly and sports stars Magic Johnson and Randy Moss — all pushing their lines — the convention drew more than 100,000 designers, buyers and manufacturers to the Las Vegas Hilton.

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“I don’t want to be one of those celebrities that slaps their name on a label and collects royalty checks,” Hilton said, noting that she studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. “Everything on that runway reflects me.”

Hilton’s clothes are accented with pearls, polka dots and a pink palm tree motif. The designer said she takes inspiration from “things from my everyday life,” such as the palm trees outside the window of The Beverly Hills Hotel room that she once called home.

“Waking up every morning, I would see those trees. That just clicked,” she said.