“It’s not fashion-y, it’s not trendy, and it’s not basic,” said Nili Lotan at her showroom, standing in front of a board featuring her pre-fall 2025 lookbook. “It’s sexy-minimal,” she offered, rounding up her description of the season.
Since we last spoke, Lotan had a few updates: She’s opened a dedicated men’s store in New York, which, she says, is “doing great,” in addition to a location in Paris at Le Bon Marché. This lookbook, the first for which Lotan has photographed both men’s and women’s looks, features the arrival of a weekender bag, which Lotan is betting on to kick off a rollout of handbag styles she’s been working on for over a year. But back to Paris: “There’s two other American names at Le Bon Marché, The Row and Khaite, they call us the American row,” she said, “but when I see the three stores, they all look different, that’s what I want.”
Lotan believes it’s the “sexy” in her minimalist style that makes her collection stand out. That and its friendlier—and definitely sexier—price point, which places her brand in the space between “for everyone” and “for only a few.” It’s this sexiness, too, that Lotan has placed at the center of her pre-fall effort. She swapped navy for a delicious and more alluring burgundy shade, and she did away with shirting in favor of sheer silk blouses and a solid range of second-skin knits, some of which she made as halters for a sultrier alternative to a traditional crewneck.
Lotan also cropped the hems in her women’s jackets to make them more suitable for trans-seasonal; a double breasted style in a pinstripe wool and another in diamond quilted leather are standouts. The menswear is as covetable as the women’s in terms of quality and price point, but less specific in its design. Lotan seems to understand that men, particularly the grown-up, stylish-but-not-fashion-y guys she’s aiming for, aren’t that keen on swapping their wardrobes each season; what they really want are solid core items.
On that note, Lotan concluded: “I’m a one-stop. Men, women—they don’t need to go anywhere else.” Other than wherever that weekender is taking them, of course.
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