Studio Nicholson Debuts at Paris Fashion Week With Its SS27 Collection
Titled “This is who we are.”
Summary
Studio Nicholson marked its 16th anniversary by debuting its first-ever live runway collection during Paris Fashion Week.
The garment range focused on elevated gabardine trousers, Japanese denim jeans, and unisex Mackintosh outerwear.
Expanded accessories featured Roxbury kitten pumps, printed crocodile leather flip-flops, and Franklin leather backpacks.
Studio Nicholson marked a significant milestone on its 16-year journey by presenting its first‑ever runway show during Paris Fashion Week. Titled “This is who we are,” the presentation allowed Founder and Creative Director Nick Wakeman to showcase the brand’s established provenance and let the clothes move live on a global stage rather than relying on static imagery.
The Spring/Summer 2027 collection is built on a series of deeply ingrained cinematic and artistic codes that Wakeman has revisited for nearly 30 years, finding inspiration in The Piano Teacher, the photography of Duane Michals and the sophisticated tailoring of Charlotte Rampling and Isabella Rossellini. The event also served as a launchpad for Studio Nicholson’s new robust, honest visual identity, featuring a well‑spaced slab serif typeface called Antique No.6 by Paul Barnes.
The product range stayed fiercely loyal to Wakeman’s founding 2010 ethos — to refine, update, and perfect the classics. Focused heavily on fabric purity, rigorous silhouettes, and extreme comfort, the styling consciously avoided runway tricks or distractions. Trousers anchored the ready‑to‑wear lineup, highlighting the house’s signature “Sorte” men’s pant re-engineered for the runway in an elevated bonded gabardine. The collection introduced a new unisex straight‑leg denim style called “Alwyn,” cut from black or white Japanese denim with a sleek tailoring pocket. Women’s tailoring featured the “Albany,” a long, lean pant with a forward side seam, and the panini‑creased “Afton” trouser. For menswear, the “Taunton” pant offered an ’80s-inspired droopy fit in Scottish heritage wool, while the softly curved “Cessna” trouser featured utility details in a washed weather cloth.
Outerwear remained a central narrative focus for the brand, offering functional, highly believable unisex pieces with subtle surface treatments. Standout silhouettes included the “Kendal,” a deliberately shrunken nappa leather jacket, and the “Ciaran” Fireman’s jacket crafted from a heavy double cotton weave with a unique délavé wash effect. Classic outerwear shapes were further elevated through two new technical developments created in collaboration with heritage specialist Mackintosh. These structured pieces were seamlessly styled alongside everyday essentials like crisp pinstriped shirts, relaxed button-downs, safari shirts, striped long-sleeve tees, and minimalist pencil skirts.
The presentation showcased an expansion of the brand’s footprint in shoes, bags and accessories, aligning with its global trajectory toward owning 16 stores worldwide by Spring 2027. For women, footwear focused on subtle romantic wit with kitten heels, specifically the “Roxbury” pump featuring an elongated rounded toe. Meanwhile, men’s footwear embraced luxury casual configurations, introducing the “Salem” thong flip-flop in printed crocodile leather and the “Canaan” washed canvas espadrille with premium leather trim. Grained leather “Franklin” backpacks led the bags category, completing a precious, studied, and terribly subtle uniform designed for everyday purpose.
