“When I finished my Master’s, I had a manifesto, and the first line was, ‘the static man is a facade, but the man in motion is a true reflection of who he really is.’” Virtually sitting across from Saul Nash, the designer behind his eponymous menswear label, there are so many questions I want to ask. What came first, his love for dance or design? How has he merged the two worlds? At what point of the process does he start to think about how a collection will be showcased? What was it like working with the Woolmark Prize? But as he speaks from his studio, bodies floating in and out of frame with the subtle yet palpable end-of-day energy, I am reminded of his remarkable power of storytelling — and all I want to do is listen to his story.

A dancer first and foremost, Nash began exploring movement design during his Bachelor’s degree at Central Saint Martins, where he studied Performance Design and Practise, a course that he tells me meant “anything as long as there was a performance at the end of it”. This freedom and creative environment nurtured the budding designer’s experimentation, giving him room to dance, create costumes led by performances, and figure out the right balance of movement and fashion. It wasn’t until his Master’s, however, that he began to perfect the technicality and craftsmanship he is now known for. “The technical aspect actually came into my work when I won an Adidas project at the Royal College of Art,” he explains. “So when I went to my Master’s, I was able to really contextualise my investigation in performance in an actual functional kind of space. Learning about the world of activewear and performance-wear really anchored and gave meaning to my work.”

Working in this space between the two has allowed for an enhanced level of innovation and creativity, giving Nash the foundation to play around with various techniques and processes. Whether beginning a design from an aesthetic angle and looking into durability and movability afterwards, or going in with a specific functional design aspect in mind and then going off of that base, he approaches every collection and each individual piece uniquely. “When I was in my Master’s, it was heavily led by movement, so movement actually created a lot of the silhouettes which began my brand. But then from season to season, because I studied performance, some seasons are more about telling a story than dance. I also look at the men that I grew up around and tell stories about sportswear surrounding them. So while movement is at the centre of everything I do as a designer, it’s also looking at wider narratives around sportswear.”

This approach includes the presentation as well, which for Nash is equally as important as the clothing themselves. Where some focus more on turning a runway into a stage for dance choreography, others tell stories through movement caught on film. “It’s always about exploring what’s appropriate to the season or to the story of the season, which is really fun. I really love thinking about different ways to present each season. And then sometimes you have limitations with the space you’re going to show in, and you have to work around that and still be able to tell the story.” He lights up as he tells me about one such obstacle, where he showed up at the presentation space only to find it much smaller than the one the dancers had practised in. “You don’t want the dancers or performers to impact the audience, so how do you still allow them to use their body to tell the story but without it getting too messy or chaotic? You kind of alter it depending on the space as well. It starts with an idea, but then it starts to flesh out throughout the season. The more I see the clothes, more ideas come in.”

For his most recent collection, the SS24 Intersections, Nash started thinking about how he wanted to present it early on in the design process. Looking at his grandfather’s country of Mauritius and the intersections between the culture and that of his mother’s Caribbean heritage, the collection explores the points of crossovers and differences — something he knew he wanted to explore not just through the looks but through the presentation as well. “I thought, okay, how will we best communicate or show this? So we did it in the ICA and we made the space into a beach, because we wanted people to feel like they were in that climate. What’s funny is that it was a very hot day, so when people came in there, they actually felt as if they were on a beach.”

Whether it was manifesting the heat or a stroke of luck, Nash creates 360° worlds with his collections that truly immerse his audiences. From the music to the performance to the weather itself, a Saul Nash show is unlike any other. “Coming from a background in performance, you think about the space that these characters live in, you think about what they wear and how they would tell their story. I think that’s an essential foundation to the brand in itself. You have your story that you’re telling through the clothing itself but then you’re thinking about the wider context of where you want it to live and who you want it to impact.”

Always prioritising durability, movability, innovation, and aesthetics, he carefully experiments with materials, tests the products out through use, and figures out the best way to get his point across based on the narrative he sets out to portray. Most recently, he has taken his craft to new heights with the introduction of wool — thanks to the International Woolmark Prize.

Celebrating the versatility of Australian Merino wool and the global fashion designers who showcase its possibilities and beauty, the International Woolmark Prize provides finalists with a profound education on the fibre’s properties and uses, as well as mentorship on product ideation, development, and production. Joining the impressive lineup of winners, including Valentino Garavani, Yves Saint Laurent, and Karl Lagerfeld, Saul Nash was awarded the 2022 International Woolmark Prize — embarking on a journey of material exploration, bringing Merino wool into activewear.

“My intention was to look at the way that wool could be used in performance garments,” he tells me. “You have to do a course where you learn about wool, and what as really fascinating was that all the properties of wool in itself were ideal for creating a technical or performance garment. At the time, I didn’t really have the resources to [incorporate knitwear into the brand], which was something I was really interested in. Winning the Woolmark Prize or even embarking on the Woolmark Prize, it connected me with partners in order to be able to do it. And this is something that I continue to evolve and explore in my own range.”

“What’s really amazing about wool is it’s 100% biodegradable, so it only felt right to explore using a natural fibre. I had a lot of cut and sew garments in my range back then, which were coming in at the same price as creating a fully engineered knitted garment, so it completely made sense to explore that route and we were quite surprised by what we managed to create as part of it. Being able to work in wool got rid of quite a percentage of garments that we might have made in blends, which have plastics in them and are harder to recycle. Using a mono material, it all breaks down on its own. I found a yarn that was twisted high enough that it became more stretchy and I was able to use it for compression tops and take out the elastane. Wool is breathable, moisture-wicking, anti-odour… sometimes with nylon, if you sweat in it, it starts to smell. Also, wool is anti-bacterial as well.” He pauses. “It’s almost like, by taking the wool of the sheep, you benefit from the properties of what it would give the sheep in the environment.”

Watch Saul Nash x The Woolmark Prize, Juxtaposition, directed by FX Goby…

The Woolmark Prize has also introduced the Saul Nash brand to new communities, outside of those that the designer initially anticipated reaching. “From the beginning, the dance community has always been involved in what we do. But what’s interesting is the more you distribute or sell your work, you also start to notice other communities. There’s that commonality of people that like to play sport but then people that like to wear clothes and you start to notice different pockets of communities. There’s the community that you exist in and build with, but then there’s also people that find similarities in the story you’re telling and then they connect with it. Sometimes I’m even surprised by people who might wear the clothes, because I’ve got my community in mind when I’m creating, but you’re always surprised by new people, because I guess it speaks and resonates with different people.”

When I ask Nash what he’s working on at the moment, he looks around the studio. “Right now I’m working towards A24, so I’ll be showing in February. There’s a lot of new techniques in this season, and an addition of accessories, which is something we haven’t really explored….” He pauses before revealing too much, but I’m already hooked. We can’t wait to see what Nash comes up with next.

Learn more about the International Woolmark Prize here.