âIâm very into how clothes make you feel,â says Nick Wakeman, creative director and founder of Studio Nicholson. âAnyone can style something and make it look decent but as a garment, how does it make you feel?â This thinking underscores Wakemanâs excitement for fabric which design wise informs everything. âWe started this collection considering that each fabric had to have some kind of property. Is it spongy, shiny, textural, noisy?â Wakeman also obsessed over specific time periods and moods. âWe delved into 1990s fabrications, mainly out of Japan, and I was thinking about Comme and Yohji,â she said.
This collectionâs campaign was shot in Stockholm, Sweden. Wakeman and the team sought out the cityâs textures, from concrete and brutalist architecture to interesting windows, to use as a backdrop that plays off against the clothingâs various surfaces, shapes and lines. âWeâre not a minimalist brand,â says Wakeman. âThis is about perfecting the classics. Itâs about looking in detail at the classics, and then modernising them.â The shoot also showcased the debut leather bags collection, which are all designed to provide a fitting but purposeful punctuation to a Studio Nicholson look without fussy hardware or other gimmicky distractions.
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One reference point that Wakeman does frequently return to is Gus Van Santâs 108 Portraits, first published in 1992. âI look at that book all the time - not because its full of clothes, because itâs full of faces. Itâs like non-inspiration-inspiration. It allows me to dream.â she says. âItâs a mood." Elements of Van Santâs mood and the film My Own Private Idaho are quietly distilled in Wakemanâs designs for this season and into Winter 24.
Autumn 24âs colour palette across menswear and womenswear includes: airforce blue,
asphalt, black grape, bone grey, butter, dark fir, darkest navy, espresso, fossil, glacier, gull grey, peanut, plaster, tan and tarmac.
âI was thinking mostly about the cornerstones of what winter actually means for clothing,â says Nick Wakeman, creative director and founder of Studio Nicholson. âItâs ultimately about outerwear and knitwear, texture and strong fabrics.â Images from the 1990s of actors such as Michelle Pfeiffer in a plaid shirt and houndstooth tailored coat or Kim Basinger in a mannish overcoat clutching a blanket were on Wakemanâs reference board. Gus Van Santâs book â108 Portraitsâ continues to be a reference; the menâs Ray cotton check shirt is a
homage to River Phoenix.
She was also thinking about Martin Margiela and Japanese architect Tadao Ando. âAndo is always on the moodboard,â smiles Wakeman, holding up a picture from 1989 of the visionary and his team. âI love how his team are just dressed in the most brilliantly essential way. No one is dressed the same but the mood is so succinct. Exactly how I want Studio Nicholson to feel.â
The Studio Nicholson Winter 2024 Menswear Module collection brings a fusion of classic tailoring and 50s-inspired sportswear, injected with modernity.
Studio Nicholsonâs magic lies in making everyday, commonplace garments feel flawlessly modern. « I am infatuated with the idea of the ordinary in place of any kind of fantasy. Ahead of designing this Winter Module collection, I looked at archival 90âs images of young film stars leaving The Viper Room in Los Angeles » says Creative Director Nick Wakeman.
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A new approach to volume and proportion is at play, with contrasting textures and considered detailing adding an elevated impression. The classic suit is refreshed in a broken pinstripe, smart shirting is softened in lofty felted wool, and knitwear is reimagined in high-twist, 8-ply ribbed lambswool. Wardrobe staples feel familiar, yet brand new.