Saul Nash makes tracksuits for the thinking man. Since his debut, the London designer’s signature activewear has vowed to liberate young men from the constraints of performed masculinity through the freedom movement can bring. Previous seasons have considered sportswear as a status indicator for schoolchildren, or explored the mass popularity of ski clothes despite their middle-class origins. It was all the more unexpected then, that as Nash’s most recent showcase began, a model materialised wearing a crisp white shirt and black tie, with a deconstructed leather blazer hanging from their shoulders.
For AW25, Nash had left his London home behind for Milan, and with a new location came a new outlook on the Saul Nash man. Heavy bombers, structured denim and thickset parka coats soon followed that opening look, their sheer tangibility a sharp contrast to the diaphanous suggestions of sportswear Nash usually deals in. Eveningwear allusions arrived via cummerbunds, smart trousers and boxy blazers – but the Saul Nash sporting lens was still present. The cummerbunds had been made from ripstop nylon material, trousers featured zip-up panels, and blazers and shirts were constructed with built-in hoods. It had became apparent that, this season, Nash was concerned with evolving his brand – hence the name Metamorphosis – while ensuring that the familiar codes of performance and movement remained intact.
Previously, the designer has flirted with ideas of smartness, alluding to evening wear in the panelled tracksuit trousers of SS25, or his exploration of nightclub dress codes for AW24. This, however, was Nash’s most immediate foray into that world, with a windbreaker slashed to look like some sort of hunting cape, and a slick-haired finance-type closing the show in a grey fleece and hooded Oxford shirt. Elsewhere, Nash did assert that he wasn’t done with purely performance-based dressing just yet, particularly via his new line SLNSH, a collaboration with lululemon. Though it did feature logoed track tops and athletic leggings, the line also introduced a smart leather bumbag, too, one that has all the trappings of AW25’s next It-bag. “What’s really beautiful is it’s two different universes coming together with a shared interest in movement,” the designer told us, just before he unleashed his reinvented vision onto the world.
Hey Saul! Congrats on the new collection and your debut at Milan Fashion Week. I guess that’s the first question then – why Milan?
Saul Nash: I’m someone who’s always hungry, and I’m always looking at where I want to be next. [Showing in] Milan wasn’t something that popped up within the last year. If you want to do quite a significant move, it takes planning, and it takes forward-thinking. This is something that I was looking at for quite a few seasons, but the opportunity arose this time to do so. Whilst I’ve grown and developed what I do in London, I’ve always wanted to take it out of where I’m from and present it to the world, and I’ve always looked at Milan as a good space to do that – it’s a great reflection of where my work’s moving to.
Like the evolution of the Saul Nash brand.
Saul Nash: When I started the brand, I was 26, and I’m now 32. I’m always questioning – within my own wardrobe, but also within the universe I’m creating – what would the tailored jacket look like for the Saul Nash man? Or, what would the shirt look like? And how would I present that shirt? Now I feel at a stage where it’d be a beautiful place to present my first entrance into that.
Was that the idea behind the name of the show, Metamorphosis?
Saul Nash: It’s metamorphosis in the sense of transformation and liberation of movement, but there’s also metamorphosis in the metaphorical sense of evolving as a brand. There’s been a lot of reflection on what movement looks like beyond the spectrum of sportswear. Some of the early collection manifestos were about liberating men through movement. Movement is always at the heart of what I do, but I’m now looking at what that means beyond sportswear. It’s really been an investigation this season. I’m in a space where I really want to set myself free creatively.
When we ask the question about Milan, it’s also about stepping out of your comfort zone
Were there any particular moments that you struggled with in the lead-up to the show?
Saul Nash: I think it’s always a struggle and a challenge in the beginning, because I work in a way where I’m like a magpie. I like to collect. My work is not only inspired by what I see visually, it could be thoughts or memories. The initial challenge is always, ‘how do you materialise that into something visual?’ Some ideas you hold on to in the beginning and they evolve into a completely different thing, so it’s always a journey developing a collection, because you’re always thinking. I dream about designing sometimes, because I never switch off from it.
What do those dreams look like?
Saul Nash: Sometimes it’ll be like, there’s a hem I couldn’t finish, and I’ll have a dream about how to solve it. Something as simple as that. Or sometimes I’ll dream about how a person navigates or moves in what I’m designing. I’m getting better now, because I’m older, so my ability to switch off is there.
So the metamorphosis is also a personal one, not just about the clothes?
Saul Nash: Yeah. Naturally as a designer – I can’t speak for all designers – but my work’s always been innately a reflection of myself and an extension of the people around me. We’re metamorphosing, we’re growing up, so what does that look like today? I’ve always worn a track suit, and I was always comfortable in it, but I’ve been searching for how to design a wider wardrobe for myself – but how do I take that on the journey with people who are invested in what I create? And, also, how do I speak to new people?
When we ask the question about [showing in] Milan, it’s also about stepping out of your comfort zone. When I used to perform on stage, I didn’t know who was in front of me, but I had to stand there and put myself in a vulnerable place. That’s what’s really exciting, to go into the unknown.
Maybe people don’t necessarily think of Saul Nash as a ‘Milan brand’ – was this collection you asserting that’s what we are, this is where we belong?
Saul Nash: I don’t think anybody’s thinking of it with that kind of polarity. Something that I always wanted to do when I began my brand was to take my brand on tour around the world – what would that performance look like if it popped up in Japan, for instance. In terms of London, I come from London, I was born in London, but I think it’s important as a creative to be as open-minded as you can. Where you’re from creates you and shapes you, but it doesn’t define who you are. We’re curious, and we always want to see new things.
Performance is a spectrum, it’s not only dance. It’s about how we behave and how we present ourselves, it’s about our personality and our gestures – Saul Nash
Can you tell me about the runway pieces you made with lululemon? Some people might see that as an unexpected collab.
Saul Nash: The show will be the introduction of SLNSH, which is a universe that presents what the Saul Nash language looks like through performance – and when I say performance I’m talking about performance and active wear. That’s what most people expected as a brand we would do. This project is a beautiful space to explore that, but it’s allowed me to look at the wider spectrum within my own brand and question what some of the other categories look like.
We’re previewing three looks [from the lululemon collab] at the show, and what’s really beautiful is it’s two different universes coming together with a shared interest in movement. Understanding what movement means through lululemon’s universe has enabled us to create something quite beautiful together.
The casting of the show seemed to venture into new territory for you. How did you approach that this season?
Saul Nash: It was a balance between reflecting the person that I see within my universe, but it’s also important to note that that person has evolved, or they’ve grown up – they’ve somewhat metamorphosed. When I was 26, it was all the young people that were surrounding me that I danced with, and they’re still a big part of my community, but they’re also embedded in different ways into what I do.
Even within performance, I studied performance design, and performance is a spectrum, it’s not only dance. It’s about how we behave and how we present ourselves, it’s about our personality and our gestures. So with the models, it’s important to still maintain the diverse and eclectic mix of men, because that reflects who I grew up around. But this season we’re really expanding on what that universe looks like, because I always want to invite new people into the world that I create.
Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page for Nash’s entire AW25 collection
