The idea of vast landscapes, vistas and dusty roads were the starting points for the Studio Nicholson SS26 collection. “Perhaps, I was romanticising that idea of riding a moped around an island in summer and that feeling of a warm wind blowing against your skin,” says Founder and Creative Director Nick Wakeman. This started to evoke thoughts of a particular wardrobe, one that circulated fluidity and purity. “This collection became a lot about fabrics that move of their own volition,” she said.
SS26 Collection
The lone figures of Georgia O’Keefe in white against a mountain range or David Attenborough in tonal neutrals in a desert became peripheral seasonal pinups while Wakeman looked only at black and white photography during her research phase. “I love the idea of mainly monochromatic summer clothes,” she says. “That’s very sexy to me.”
The accompanying campaign imagery captured by multidisciplinary British artist Kingsley Ifill and shot across the lunar landscapes of Lanzarote encapsulates the season’s atmospheric mood. “Kingsley’s work was a big inspiration for us,” explained Wakeman. "He is not a traditional fashion photographer, and we loved the idea that he is printing this set of pictures via traditional handmade silver gelatin prints.”
A key fabric for the season across both men’s and womenswear is Japanese typewriter cotton, which offers a washed, breathable, lived-in mood; its papery texture rustles when in movement and brushes softly against skin. The new Achille dress - one of Wakeman’s favourite pieces of the season - is captured in this material. Its spaghetti straps nod to the classic slip dress, but its finish is generously voluminous. “The way this dress moves is extremely satisfying,” says Wakeman. “It might just be the perfect summer holiday dress.”
The Vega - a new women’s collarless shirt with a four-button placket in optic white - is another key piece cut in typewriter cotton; in the campaign, it is styled with the Ventura pant. This latter new shape has a slight crop finish and also features a four-button placket that echoes a pair of men’s boxer shorts or heritage tailoring, depending on your point of view. Meanwhile, typewriter cotton also appears in the men’s collection too; from the Agios, a new boxy short-sleeve shirt in ink, to the return of the roomy Elio short-short or the best-selling Line pant, which hangs particularly gloriously in it.
A key new fabric addition to womenswear this season is a viscose linen slub material that marries a vintage, antique handle with a visible textural surface and irregular construction. “This is a fantastic fabric for relaxed tailoring,” says Wakeman. “The idea of a material that resolves to make garments which feel truly effortless and special is to me deeply underrated.” Highlights of this for SS26 include the new three-button, unstructured Elkin jacket with a notch lapel, the Calvo pant with a button at the hem and a draw cord belt, plus the Bryde skirt that wraps and buttons on the hip - all of which come in alabaster.
Ideas around relaxed tailoring feature across menswear too. The boxy yet sharp Ferro jacket cut in a tonal broken twill - a cotton-linen blend with a subtle herringbone texture - in antique white, black or pinstripe is ideal for summer wardrobe elevation. In the campaign, it is shot with a tonal iteration of the house classic Pull pant and the new Lemmer short-sleeve shirt, which is cut in a soft viscose linen and finished with a two-button placket. Other men’s highlights include: the new Sanko shirt in a paper poplin in cocoa, the wide Sonny pant in indigo cotton or pinstripe, and the best-selling Over jacket, reimagined in matte cotton-nylon in ink.
Ideas around relaxed tailoring feature across menswear too. The boxy yet sharp Ferro jacket cut in a tonal broken twill - a cotton-linen blend with a subtle herringbone texture - in antique white, black or pinstripe is ideal for summer wardrobe elevation. In the campaign, it is shot with a tonal iteration of the house classic Pull pant and the new Lemmer short-sleeve shirt, which is cut in a soft viscose linen and finished with a two-button placket. Other men’s highlights include: the new Sanko shirt in a paper poplin in cocoa, the wide Sonny pant in indigo cotton or pinstripe, and the best-selling Over jacket, reimagined in matte cotton-nylon in ink.
The women’s Barra pant - a riff on a classic lean 5 pocket jean originally introduced for pre-spring - is reimagined in a new high-summer wash dubbed Pumice; a very Studio Nicholson shade of pale grey. If the Barra pant is the women’s jean of SS26 then the men’s roomy Levy pant, cut in double cotton linen in a shade of peat, is arguably the season’s easy (and more exciting) chino upgrade.
Another strong dress option for high-summer is the new Wold in chalk. Made in an Italian vintage soft linen, this simple form is voluminous in the back, sleeveless and features a detachable button-fastening belt; curved side seams give it a slightly rounded, sculptural effect. The new Surat dress meanwhile comes in a textured fluid viscose - a Studio Nicholson signature material - and boasts a subtle slash opening in the back.
Three other dress highlights to ponder: the Chrono in a new coated linen is lightweight, loose and ankle length, while the Milner is a pleated shift, cut in a rib lyocell jersey, which gives it a fabulous fluidity.
This season marks the arrival of the first unisex Studio Nicholson own line sunglasses. Exemplifying Wakeman’s approach to reinvigorating the classics, this debut launch sees the arrival of an archetypal D-frame style in black or tortoiseshell, made in Japan.
The key footwear for SS26 is the Curren Italian leather thong - also unisex - available in black, cocoa and sand.
Photographed by Kingsley Ifill
Video by João de Sousa in Lanzarote
Video by João de Sousa in Lanzarote
