Continuity Counts - Building the Modular Wardrobe

The best stuff isn’t designed to be disposable. It should stand the test of time – and ideally, become more beautiful with age. You can use this theory for almost everything, but for now, let’s concentrate on how it relates to clothing. Our wardrobes shouldn’t be a mausoleum for redundant ‘product’ we’ve fallen out of love with. It’s a waste of money, a waste of resources and a waste of space.

An ideal rail should be peppered with a hardcore handful of satisfyingly simple, elegant but hard-wearing clobber. That compact collection of brilliant things is something most people are striving towards. We congratulate the disciplined few, who wear the same, excellent garments on repeat. Because they, dear reader, have been given the keys to sartorial nirvana.

In this idyll, fashion is bullshit. It’s a place held aloft with the pillars of continuity. A paradise where getting dressed doesn’t feel stressful. Here, people like you and me fling open their wardrobe doors and feel grounded, excited and creative. They are energised by the concept of loyalty to particular silhouettes. Happy to experiment with the trusted and the familiar. Determined to respect the methodology of the uniform and concentrate on enjoying their day, instead of fretting about what to wear.

Take advice from the don, Dieter Rams. He’s ‘a less, but better’ type of guy. If good design is long-lasting and thorough down to the last detail, these virtues are what we should be looking for in a garment. The Studio Nicholson modular wardrobe was founded with this ethos and is smart enough to understand that clothing should jigsaw together, season on season. Get the framework right and everything else just falls into place – effortlessly.

Cracking the continuity code took time. Engineered as an ageless system of responsibly made seperates, the continuity styles act as a nucleus. A framework. A springboard of iconic styles that embody founder Nick Wakeman’s much imitated aesthetic. Wakeman and her team have worked hard over the years to finely tune the bedrock shapes. They have names you’ll be familiar with, because we talk about them like old friends. There’s the Dordoni Pant, the Sorte Pant, the Conde Jacket, the Holin Coat, the Ruthe Jean, the Lazar Jacket, the Keble Shirt and the Creed Shirt. The Bill Pant and Puch Denim Pant are also notable continuity contenders.

The European factories are champions of renewable energy (those solar panels kick out some power). They rationalise their consumption of electricity and water (machinery isn’t left on standby. The last person to leave turns the lights off). There are ISKO and OKEOTEX certifications for denim (important when you consider how it’s made). Year on year, continuity fabrics are knockout – as you’d expect from Studio Nicholson. Premium Italian peached cottons. Lightweight but dense, proofed crunchy cottons for outerwear. Top notch Italian Oxford cotton for shirts. Breathable and washes like a dream. 

Wrap all these credentials into modular prefects and you’ve got playful, useful, practical and straightforward garments that you’ll never relegate to the back of the wardrobe. With volume in all the right places, they’re conspicuous in their functionality. Special attention has been paid to the fit – devotees will often refer to the continuity crew as a ‘layer for life’. These continuity styles outperform the new stuff year on year because they work. They encapsulate the Studio Nicholson brand aesthetic but adapt themselves to the unique attitude and personality of the wearer. It’s a tall order these days isn’t it? Sticking to a formula. Staying confident about your choices. With my professional head on, I call it brand authenticity. Out of hours, it’s Nick Wakeman wizardry. If you’ve not experienced the magic yet, I suggest you give it a try.