Studio Nicholson: the cult label that dresses everyone discreetly

“I’m extremely nosy and want to be involved in everything,” says Nick Wakeman, founder and creative director of Studio Nicholson, sitting in his stylish Hackney flat. “I’ve spent 14 years doing this at the expense of the rest of my life, so if something goes wrong, basically my son is sick.” Wakeman, who wears a ribbed zipper top and pants of his own design, is as no-nonsense as his clothes, which are bold in their confidence but nuanced in fabric, color and fit. “A lot of fashion seems to be in shock,” he says. “I like clothes, not fashion.”

Nicholson Studio Since its founding in 2010, it has gained an army of fans: Jessie Buckley, Emma Thompson and Cillian Murphy have all worn Wakeman’s designs, as have Cate BlanchettThe very elegant and conflictive main character of Tar. It was initially created as a women’s clothing company. “My idea was to create an accessible brand using premium fabrics,” says Wakeman. “Back then, there was Celine and Cos. There was nothing in between.” The first collection was based on his own wardrobe of men’s shirts, jeans and jackets which she had modified to suit. “I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy. “A pair of dungarees I had when I was a kid meant everything to me.”

Back then there was Celine and Cos, nothing in between

He launched the men’s one in 2017, with Talking Heads’ David Byrne as a reference, and now sales of the two are equal. The brand is small, with 32 employees; It has two independent stores in London and Tokyo, two other single-brand stores in South Korea and more than 250 distributors around the world. A recent Zara collaboration helped reach a broader audience; The brand will launch sunglasses next spring with Japanese brand Eyevan and is also working with Paraboot. This month, he launches a capsule made from draped tropical wool, one of Wakeman’s favorite materials (priced between £295 and £550). Everything is navy blue. “I love navy blue,” says Wakeman. “It’s cozy.”

Wakeman has, for all his good taste, a sparkling rebellious energy. While his fellow students on the BA print design course at Chelsea College of Arts made elegant floral designs, his featured Tampax. He did not finish his studies and began designing at Diesel in the 1990s, followed by Marks & Spencer, where he designed shirts and chinos. He worked with west London store Supra Girls, specialists in Japanese brands and streetwear, before creating his first brand, Birdie, which he later sold. Japan has been a great influence. When we meet, she has just returned from a two-week stay in Tokyo to open her first Japanese store.

“Without the support of Japanese buyers and stores during the first few years, we wouldn’t be here,” he says. His first trip to Japan in 1999 changed everything. “I went from dirty London in the 90s to this extremely tidy place in beige, brown and cream, with lots of texture, and everything was calm. “It was a breath of fresh air.”

She grew up in Hampshire: “I really wanted to be an artist, because of my love of drawing as a child.” However, an entrepreneurial spirit runs in her family. Her father ran a successful construction business, while her grandparents were manufacturers who, as part of an import business, introduced the electric blanket to the UK.

His mother was a self-taught seamstress and made one-year-old Wakeman a navy blue coat with lace trim (crocheted by his grandmother). “Mom and I always made my clothes. We would go to the fabric store, choose the fabric (which, looking back, was always my favorite part), and then decide what to make. “It’s basically the design process.”

In Nicholson Studio – named after her formidable great-grandmother “Nanan” Nicholson, who wore shirts with pants and bright red lipstick – the fabrics are chosen first. Wakeman then establishes a palette, which might include five to ten navy blues, before beginning the design. This season, highlights include super pale wide-leg jeans (from £350), pops of mint green, a cut-out dress with V detail (£525) and a chocolate leather jacket with below-the-knee skirt suit ( £1,195 and £795 respectively). One of the brand’s signatures is a super-wide pair of pants that Wakeman adapted from a pair he saw on a man walking down a Tokyo street. The brand’s best-selling products (wide-leg pants, two models of jeans and the white T-shirt) represent 40 percent of the total business.

In Matchesfashion.com, where the buying team considers the brand alongside minimalists Lemaire, Jil Sander and Margaret Howell, sales of denim and pants are repeatedly strong. Liane Wiggins, women’s fashion director, says Studio Nicholson’s success is in its multipurpose basics. “Once customers start adopting the brand, they want to build a broader wardrobe out of it.” Stylist and consultant Rose Forde echoes this. “My clients and I are impressed by the subtleties you discover when you put on clothes,” she says. “It could be a turnaround here, a harvest there. It is very studied.”

Architecture is a strong influence on Wakeman. she quotes Tadao AndoThe raw concrete blocks with air holes in the middle admire his use of light. “These things are really inspiring to me because I think about clothes in quite an architectural way. I want that line to fall there…” She imitates imaginary angles. “Houses and buildings are like clothes: they are there to protect you.”

Engineer Neil Daffin of Ritchie+Daffin, an avid fan, says the admiration is mutual. “I work with many architects and I have noticed that many of them use Studio Nicholson. I see similarities with architectural studios such as Caruso St John, 6a, Sergison Bates. “There is a restrained elegance to their practices.” Good architects, says Daffin, always look for interesting materials, pay attention to details and want to put a twist on the conventional, something very typical of Studio Nicholson.

Furniture is the obvious next step for the brand and Wakeman is looking forward to it. The idea of ​​a Studio Nicholson closet makes a lot of sense. “It is not like this?” she laughs. “I would like a Studio Nicholson coffee shop, a cup of tea, an ashtray, a sofa and luggage. Useful. I don’t want frivolities!