“It’s not fashionable, it’s not trendy and it’s not basic,” said Nili Lotan in her showroom, standing in front of a sign with her pre-fall 2025 lookbook. “It’s sexy-minimal,” she said, as as she concluded her description of the season.
Since our last conversation, Lotan has had a few updates: She’s opened a dedicated men’s store in New York, which, she says, is “doing extremely well,” in addition to a Paris location 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 weekend bag, which Lotan is betting on to kick off the rollout of handbag styles she’s been working on for over a year. But back to Paris: “There are 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 ‘sexy’ in her minimalist style that makes her collection stand out. That and the friendlier – and certainly sexier – price point, which puts her brand in the space between “for everyone” and “for just a few.” It’s also this sexiness that Lotan has made central to her pre-fall efforts. She swapped navy blue for a luscious and more seductive shade of burgundy, and she did away with shirts 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 crew neck.
Lotan has also shortened the hems of her women’s coats to make them more suitable for transitional seasons; A double-breasted style in pinstripe wool and another in diamond-quilted leather are standout features. The men’s clothing is just as desirable in terms of quality and price as the women’s clothing, but less specific in terms of design. Lotan seems to understand that men, especially the mature, stylish but unfashionable guys she’s targeting, aren’t keen on swapping out their wardrobe every season; what they really want are solid core items.
At this point Lotan concluded: “I’m a one-stop. Men, women, they don’t have to go anywhere else.” Except wherever that weekender takes them, of course.