SPRING 24 – DIMENSIONAL SHIFT

An essential uniform for the new season, Studio Nicholson’s Spring 2024 collection signals an evolution in form. Combinations are layered in endless configurations – guaranteed to become essential elements for a future-proofed modular wardrobe.

Founder and Creative Director Nick Wakeman’s seasonal mood-boards are awash with David Hockney’s pop-art appropriation of tailoring, or Robert Rauschenberg’s upending of masculine ideals. Simple, luxurious outfits worn by Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche in Damage also serve as a key influence – a combination of minimalism and sex appeal which defined much of the 1990s.

Tailored clothing reclaims its place in our wardrobes, while over on the back-burner, we’re maintaining a contradictory desire for all things unpolished, unsophisticated. Think Basquiat’s paint-splattered Armani suits, or Sofia Coppola’s famous love of streetwear – an authentic combination of disparate elements. This creative conflict runs in tandem with the introduction of a new silhouette – the typically playful approach has been re-engineered, making way for a new shape for Spring 24. The silhouette, which is sleeker, leaner, and longer but still immediately recognisable as Studio Nicholson. Think of it as an extension of the modular wardrobe lexicon – as opposed to a reinvention. As always, there is a focus on wardrobe building, which allows these new additions to be backwards compatible with pre-existing Studio Nicholson pieces. Through intelligent pattern cutting and inventive construction, the collection has a moulded, sculptural quality which harmoniously blends the masculine and the feminine.

The new silhouette manifesto is seen in pieces like the Women’s Denali, a long, languid A-line coat cut from fluid wool-viscose, given shape by a self-fabric belt. The slouchy Ansell trousers are available in the same fabric, making them the ideal accompaniment to Denali. It’s a dramatic pairing and makes a strong visual impression – while remaining understated. A modular wardrobe classic makes its return in the form of the leather Spring slide which fits effortlessly into its new habitat. The Holzer top offers a different use of the signature fluid wool-viscose; it’s light and refined, standing in pleasing contrast to the boyish Kamet shorts, cut long and wide from a highly dense poly-viscose cloth.

The men’s collection displays its own push and pull, marrying highly refined construction with rugged detailing. The Ledro coat is made from a compact showerproof cotton mix: a nod to classic trench coats but the long, exaggerated silhouette feels unmistakably modern. The Bridges trousers are made using traditional tailoring techniques, echoing the design of hard-wearing carpenter’s trousers. A peached cotton twill splits the difference between high and low, rugged and refined. The Ossi shorts – much like the Kamet – have a voluminous cut, with a high waist and extended inseam falling to the knee. Also featured is the Leroy bomber, which is intended as a truly unisex item in keeping with the season’s androgynous themes. It’s a play on the timeless flight jacket, with warped proportions and serious sleeve appeal.