Brand Intro: Estudio Niksen
Estudio Niksen is a independent lifestyle brand presenting elevated garments and living-space goods through a mix influences.
Introducing Estudio Niksen as a new brand we carry in-store. We are an independent lifestyle brand presenting elevated garments and living-space goods through a mix of influences. Founded in 2021, it all came to life as a chance to further express our vision of a timeless, approachable and gender-less wardrobe with a simplified and friendly sizing program. In developing our clothing line, the need for a living space that reflected similar values and aesthetics became the fuel for our homeware collections. With that, came the desire to work and collaborate with artists or creatives from diverse backgrounds and disciplines; making it all feel like a never-ending journey of discovering new horizons.
Today, with our headquarters and flagship store in Montreal and a satellite HQ in Seoul, we work with a design approach centered on creating timeless pieces in
limited runs. Functionality, durability and traditional workwear influences remain at the core of our collections - with a distinctive edge and recognizable shapes; all, in our own way.
B: Can you tell us how the brand started? What inspired it?
SN: At first, launching our own brand seemed unnecessary given the abundance of
great brands already out there. It was also incredibly intimidating. We preferred the idea of sharing our love for the brands we liked by curating a selection of products. However, as time passed and our audience grew, we felt ready to embark on the journey of designing and producing our own pieces - all in our own way. We started off with a couple of skus for our first Mainline collection and the reaction was simply incredible, giving us more and more confidence to create, make some mistakes, explore more techniques and expand our product selection. It’s a whole different beast, risks are higher, processes are longer but ideas are endless. The process of working with small family-owned factories and fabric mills in Seoul alongside our production team there, makes it all very enjoyable.
B: What were some of the challenges you faced early on?
SN: Not so much at the beginning because we had no expectations, so it was hard to be frustrated or disappointed. It was all from pure passion and fun, literally. If we sold one sweater a day, it felt like the biggest achievement. I would say some challenges came a bit later (which is still the early phase)—when we started becoming a more established brand and organization. The management of cash flow and supply chains was something that, even if we had the theory on how to manage, is a different game when it’s in real life. Especially when it’s your own money as an independent brand, you kind of get more and more comfortable with risk—which sometimes is the only way to move forward or grow.
Another important challenge (a positive one) was the whole transition from doing everything ourselves (Gaby and I) to growing the team and learning to delegate, deal with people’s expectations, ways of working, emotions, etc. The learning curve was incredible, and it’s an everyday reminder that the only way to go higher is to have the best team around you that supports you and challenges you.
B: What values drive Estudio Niksen, and how do they show up in your
products?
SN : We like to find slow moments in life—times that help us recharge, recenter, and get ready to pick up the pace again. That’s actually where Niksen comes from – a Dutch concept often described as “the art of doing nothing.” It’s about aimless relaxation, without goals or purpose. When naming our project, we wanted a word that captured what we stand for – and a reminder of something we all need every day. We often see our product as comfortable, accessible, and above all, timeless. While the idea of ‘doing nothing’ may not be obvious in the product itself, we try to express it through our social media, campaigns, and the atmosphere in our studio. We believe feeling good in what we wear and enjoying our space allows us to relax, slow down, and appreciate small moments of pause.
B: You don’t see many brands stray from traditional sizing the Estudio Niksen
does – how did your sizing approach come about?
SN: Hard to pinpoint exactly where it came from. I believe that by shopping for a long time for brands from South Korea or Japan, I personally was used to the one-size or the 1,2,3 format. So it didn’t seem like such a strange thing to us. Also, since the beginning, our whole aesthetics and proportions have revolved around the “it’s never too big” look and concept, so it really allowed the one size to work and come to life in a different way on each body. As we evolved, our client range and demographic became wider and more diverse, as well as our pieces. We are now creating shapes that are not as huge or wide—so we saw the opportunity to start making 1-2-3 sizes, and it has been incredibly well received. Nevertheless, some of our pieces will still come in one-size (a well-executed one) that will cohabitate with our 1,2,3 format for most pieces.
In case this helps, here is a little cheat sheet for you:
● When there are 2 sizes, either a bottom or top, you can see it as S/M and
L/XL.
● When there are 3 sizes (bottoms only), it’s like 28/30, 32/34, 36/38.
● And one size in bottoms covers US26 up to US42 in most cases.
B: What have been some fan-favorite pieces from the brand? What about
personal favorites from the team?
SN: Our Raw denim balloon jeans are undoubtedly our best sellers. They sell out almost immediately every time we restock them. As for the team’s favorites, we each have signature pieces that we wear all the time at the studio. Jacob's favorite is the Bungee-strap cargo pants, and Elliott's is the Half-dart maxi jeans. Manon and Gaby love the new double-layer overdress, which they like to style with lots of layers: with a striped tee, maxi trousers, or an oversized coat. William likes all of our cargo pants, but his all-time favorite is the Ripstop cargo wide pants in khaki or black. Camille and Gabrielle particularly like our Pintuck balloon skirt as well as our new Pleated wide skirt for the upcoming summer temperatures.
