To anchor Studio Nicholson's Spring 2024 lookbook in time, it's being issued at the tail end of January 2024, as the fashion week crush temporarily wraps up. While the biz runs itself ragged effectively chases its own tail, Studio Nicholson's glimpses of open space and no-brainer clothes are a physical reminder to stop and smell the metaphorical roses.
Life isn't all about showing up. Forget about the big new collab there, the buzzy celeb moment here, the seven-figure runway show that dominated headlines the other day — let's talk clothes.
In that regard, Studio Nicholson is perfectly suited to the task.
Every season, founder Nick Wakeman channels familiar inspiration — Basquiat's insouciant Armani suiting, David Hockney's pictorial sartorial — into a familiar assortment of heavily wearable clothes. To the untrained eye, there's little distinction between Studio Nicholson seasons — they're all imminently approachable, progressive enough to be styled adventurously but rooted enough in convention to be worn by anyone regardless of taste.
But to paint Studio Nicholson's oeuvre with a brush this broad misses the minutiae. Spring 2024, for instance, slims down the British brand's signature silhouettes.
It's a slight change, really — SN has always dabbled with different proportions and there's still ample bagginess throughout — but nevertheless an evolution of its perpetual ethos.
In a press release, the brand describes the Spring 2024 shape as "sleeker, leaner, and longer ... Think of it as an extension of the modular wardrobe lexicon – as opposed to a reinvention."
If there is a single key SN phrase, it's modularity. Relaxed shirting to wear year-round, generous coats to afford multi-season layering, trousers with enough girth to anchor the layers above but enough purpose cut a crisp line.
Studio Nicholson refers to this as a "sculpted" silhouette, which feels suitably artistic.
I'll admit, it's rather cliche to describe a lookbook as "calming" or a "breath of fresh air." At the end of the day, no matter how beautiful the clothes are or the presentation is, the goal is to shift product.
But what I find particularly endearing about Studio Nicholson Spring 2024 is that the visuals themselves mirror the collection and, really, the brand's ethos: aspirational but unpretentious.
It's a pleasant contrast to the bustle and hustle of Fashion Week, a reminder of the real world, the clothes that we actually wear (and want to wear) every day.
