After he was let go from Blass, he was at Nina Ricci between 2003 and 2006, eventually being replaced by Olivier Theyskens.

At the time of his appointment at Ferré, Tonino Perna, chairman of Ferré and IT Holding, said in a statement that Nilsson's "sartorial approach" to fashion design would help him follow the "path of creative research which has always distinguished the work of Gianfranco Ferré."