15 years of Studio Nicholson: Nick Wakeman on creating a wardrobe that’s built to last

‘It wasn’t just clothes, it was everything. Mum would go out and I'd remove things I didn't like in the living room, change the cushion covers or rearrange furniture,’ recalls Studio Nicholson founder Nick Wakeman, describing how she arrived at her obsession with design, aged five. There were clothes, too, handmade by her mum, from which she developed a preoccupation with fabric. ‘I still have that buzz. To give you a kind of nerdy fact, I've been carrying around a piece of fabric in my pocket for three months, because I love it that much. It’s way out of budget, but we’re making things in it anyway.’

As the founder and creative director of the London-based label, Wakeman has spent the past 15 years closely observing the relationship between form and function, and the role fabric plays in engineering. The brand, which focused solely on womenswear when it debuted in 2010, was effectively conceived to fill a gap in the market, providing consumers with a sartorial offering that landed somewhere between Cos and Celine, matching Wakeman’s own preference for clean lines and little fuss. Menswear arrived in 2017 (sales are now split 50/50), while an industry-wide endorsement of quiet luxury has no doubt played in its favour. Not that Wakeman’s principles could be swayed by trends.

Nick Wakeman on 15 years of Studio Nicholson

‘The meat and potatoes of [the brand] have not changed at all. I'm still making garments from the same starting point,’ she asserts. ‘I'm inspired by exactly the same things I was 15 years ago; the taste levels are still the same.’ Culture primarily informs her practice she shares, and books in particular serve as an anchor of sorts. ‘It's not just about pictures, you have to read the text and find words that really inspire you,’ says Wakeman, who recently borrowed The Use of Photography by Annie Ernaux and Marc Marie from a friend. ‘I read a lot about architecture, there's something nice about reading about materials. There's not that many books about fashion that I really enjoy.’

A few years ago Studio Nicholson supplied designs for the fictionalised maestro Lydia Tár – a character revered as much for her chic uniform as actor Cate Blanchett’s fierce talent – in Todd Field’s Oscar-nominated psychodrama, and indeed cinema is firmly entrenched in Wakeman’s stable of influences: the designer’s personal Instagram operates mostly as a moodboard, featuring archive images of well-dressed male actors. ‘It's generally about wardrobe and cinematography, the plot doesn’t matter that much,’ she offers of her viewing habits, which lean toward the latter half of the 20^th century (more recently she found herself charmed by the pace of Edward Berger’s Conclave).

‘A good piece of clothing should always be a good piece of clothing. Like a good painting is a good painting or a good book is a good book – it's never going to change that much,’ she continues, employing the analogy to emphasise the distinction between clothing and fashion (Wakeman is a fan of the former). ‘I’m not saying our clothes will last your lifetime, everyone treats their clothes differently, but, particularly in Japan, there are men and women who've had their clothes for 50 years. They really look after those pieces, and there's something quite beautiful in that. They feel authentic, and that's really what I'm trying to achieve, clothes that you grow with.’

In the brand’s anniversary year, the designer is hesitant to reflect – she has other more timely things to be doing – but when asked, Wakeman says certain components of the business are definitely more special than others. ‘The world's a different place to when I started 15 years ago: there were obstacles then and now there are just possibilities, which is a nice feeling. Opening retail, that has been a significant signifier – our first store in Japan I found really emotional.’ The shop, in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighbourhood, opened in 2023, in between the flagship Soho store (2021), and a further London space on Redchurch Street (2024). ‘But the biggest moments are the people. Like Christmas parties, where you look around and have 55 faces looking back – all these people who work really hard for the company. That's important.’

While a Studio Nicholson perfume has already been commissioned, coming 2026, Wakeman’s current project is research on what people wear around the house. ‘I’m exploring the idea of home wear but not home wear, like actually what do you want to wear at home that looks as good as your Studio Nicholson outfit in the day? How do you waft around being as chic as possible?’ she muses. ‘But you know, I’ll have a go at anything. If someone came along and said, “Would you like to design a car?’ I’d go “absolutely, let's do it, come on”.’

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