Nili Lotan doesn’t need to guess what her customers want to wear. She knows.
“Selfishly, I design for myself,” says the Israel-born, New York-based designer. “I do what I feel, need, want. I work very intuitively, and the life of a working mother has certain needs and that’s what I’m trying to address. I actually call my collection ‘my wardrobe.’”
Lucky Lotan. Her “wardrobe” consists of subtle, luxurious separates in low-key shades of gray, navy, ivory and black. Everything goes with everything, season to season. In fact, while Nolan lives in Tribeca, travels all over the world and is up on trends, her line doesn’t scream “fashion.” It whispers cool.
That’s why models and celebsgravitate to it, especially when they’re off-duty. Chanel Iman rocked Lotan’s seductively sheer halter dress at a benefit last spring, and Karlie Kloss was dreamy in a creamy cabled sweater and textured winter white wool coat during February’s New York Fashion Week.
“Nili Lotan is a favorite particularly with our New York locals,” says Tomoko Ogura, senior fashion director at Barneys New York. “She always nails the perfect amount of slouch in a sweater or pant. One of her bestselling styles continues to be a silk georgette maxiskirt, a perfect piece that looks feminine and effortless, particularly when paired with a cozy sweater.”
Lotan was born in Netanya, Israel, and earned a fashion degree from the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, near Tel Aviv. In 1980, she relocated to New York and began a long career working for major American ready-to-wear companies, including Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren, Adrienne Vittadini and Nautica. It was Nautica founder David Chu who suggested that Lotan launch her own line, and he funded her first collection, in 2003.
Over the years, Lotan has developed a language for her label. “I always have some sort of military jacket, some sort of trench coat or raincoat, I always have a beach dress,” she tells Alexa. “There is a certain order and continuity.”
This holds true for her spring 2015 collection, a master class in unadorned minimalism via a clean, mostly white and black palette of tanks, sweaters and jackets, mixed with a twisted-halter LBD and black-lace overlay blouses.
“I don’t like excess,” adds Lotan, who is in her 50s. “To me, the aesthetics and the beauty come from the textile, the shape, the way it sits on the body.”
Her fashion language also includes sociopolitical commentary, in the form of silk dresses or tees printed with thought-provoking photographs. Those evolved from her first statement piece, a spring 2007 gun-print dress created as an anti-war protest after visiting her home country during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Her second, a year later, was an image of another anti-war demonstration, while more recent subjects have included a portrait of Bob Dylan by rock photographer Michael Ochs.
“It’s not about my opinion, it’s to provoke conversation and thoughts,” says Lotan, whose Tribeca store exhibits artwork and sells her favorite books and photographs. “It’s my little contribution to social justice and politics.”