Nicholas Daley Riffs on Spiritual Jazz for Spring/Summer 2027's "Sonic Tapestry" Collection
Spiritual Jazz sets the tone for Nicholas Daley’s SS27 collection, informing everything from its handcrafted textiles to its vibrant visual language.
Fashion designer Nicholas Daley has long looked to his Scottish and Jamaican heritage as a starting point, weaving together cultural history, craft, and music into collections that feel as personal as they do archival. For Spring/Summer 2027, that conversation turns toward the Spiritual Jazz movement. Titled “Sonic Tapestry,” the collection draws from pioneers including Don Cherry, Laraaji, Gary Bartz, and Kahil El’Zabar, translating the genre’s improvisational spirit into a wardrobe built on texture, color and craftsmanship.
“Texture, tone, colour, intention, this season pieces together fragments of personal memory and meaningful reference,” Daley says of the collection. But rather than recreating the wardrobes of Spiritual Jazz’s leading figures, Daley has channeled the movement through expressive color palettes, tactile fabrications, and graphics inspired by the era’s visual language. Swedish artist Moki Cherry’s vibrant collages and tapestries inform much of the collection, while prints, patterns, and graphics recall the immersive stage sets that accompanied Don Cherry’s performances.
The collection’s standout textile arrives through a collaboration with renowned West Yorkshire quilter Chris English, who reconstructs archival Nicholas Daley fabrics into an intricate patchwork material. The resulting fabrication appears across a Harrington-inspired jacket and the brand’s signature patchwork kilt, reinforcing the label’s longstanding commitment to remake and reuse. Elsewhere, Daley continues exploring his dual heritage through a custom thistle camouflage that merges Scotland’s national flower with the Jamaican hibiscus, appearing across ripstop shirting and the new Miles Work Jean.
During New York Fashion Week this September, Daley and Grammy-nominated trumpeter Theo Croker will bring “Sonic Tapestry” live to New York’s legendary Blue Note for a two-night residency on September 15 and 16. With tickets available now for purchase, the performances promise to translate the collection’s themes of jazz, craftsmanship, and cultural storytelling into an immersive live experience.
