Studio Nicholson, the British brand long celebrated for its clean lines and easy-to-wear pieces, has just unveiled its first collaboration with Japanese bag specialists YOSHIDA & Co. under the POTR label. It’s a collection that feels inevitable in the best possible way. Two brands obsessed with fabric, function and form, speaking the same quiet language.
Centred around Studio Nicholson’s signature Darkest Navy, the capsule offers three pieces. There's a reworked Bonsac shoulder bag, a low-profile messenger, and a neat key pouch set. All three are handmade in Japan from a salt-treated, water-repellent nylon that manages to feel at once technical and lived-in. The fabric, a recycled three-layer construction with a dense ripstop lining, has a cool hand feel and a washed finish, landing somewhere between navy, black and grey. Which is to say: it will go with absolutely everything you already own.
For Studio Nicholson founder Nick Wakeman, the collaboration is the culmination of a longstanding admiration for the Japanese brand. "I first encountered Porter Yoshida back in 1999," she says. "My brother and I had just bought motorcycle helmets and found these fantastic Porter helmet bags at Tokyu Hands in Tokyo. I’ve loved them ever since."
POTR: Design-led utility
It’s that spirit – utility elevated through obsessive design – that runs through the collection. The Bonsac, with its adjustable strap and cinched top, brings an architectural sort of volume to the body when worn, changing the wearer’s silhouette in the way a great overcoat or a heavy scarf might. The messenger is stripped back and functional, while the key pouch set is one of those everyday luxuries you didn’t realise you needed until you have it.
There’s no big logo treatment, no obvious fanfare. Just intelligent design, rendered in materials that will quietly outlast everything else in your wardrobe.
The Studio Nicholson x POTR collection will be available online and in-store from Thursday 1st May. Best not to hang around.
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