Nili Lotan spent the ’90s wearing Margiela and Jil Sander while leading design teams in New York City—first at Liz Claiborne, and then at Ralph Lauren. Those years deeply informed her perspective on fashion, and for pre-fall she channeled the minimal-chic look of the widely-referenced era.
Lotan has been ruminating on a cultural shift she’s observed post-pandemic, specifically our renewed fascination with luxury. “Luxury in the sense of not over-embellishing yourself with gold and diamonds, but of treating yourself with beautiful things,” she explains. This feeling informed the general spirit of her men’s and women’s collections, which consist of sharp cotton tailoring, sleek leather outerwear, and tank tops and tees in luscious silk knits.
The collections are split into three stories. The first is a black and ivory tailoring group, in which exacting oversized jackets are paired with double-pleated trousers that pool at the hem or with over-the-knee shorts, channeling the chic butchness of ’90s power suits in contemporary proportions. In the menswear, blazers are cut closer to the body while trousers remain wide, a digestible but still directional look. The second section is the collection’s sharpest. It features wardrobe essentials like wear-to-work pencil skirts, tank tops, and blouses fashioned in warm grays that subtly clash against cooler tones of the same color. Looks 13 and 14 in the women’s slideshow are particularly strong, with bottoms, outerwear, and layered tops all harmoniously playing off each other. The third group is rooted in military pieces, a refresh to a story Nili Lotan customers will recognize. While not an entirely new idea, a uniform is always enticing.
“I had a lot of respect for Liz [Claiborne] at the time because she said what I’m saying now, in a way,” Lotan explained. “She wanted to help women dress, she designed in groups that were easy, it all matched. I try to be more freestyle, but it comes from the same intention to empower women and make them feel good.”
