Nili Lotan is the first to admit that her clothes cover a narrow spectrum. She even hesitates to use the word fashion during appointments, because she’s not interested in trends or creating a fantasy. Instead, she designs familiar-but-better clothes you can live in: army pants, silk blouses, cashmere sweaters. Her passion lies in tweaking the fit, fabric, or proportion, so even those “basics” look unlike anything else out there. Sweaters hang off the shoulders just so; pants have a singular slouch; shirts have wide, billowing sleeves. Those nuances might change from season to season, or they’ll persist; for instance, she’s been in the mood for ultra-wide-leg jeans for over a year now.
Her big stories for Pre-Fall were prints and pants. Lotan has long been known for her trousers, and she whipped up at least a dozen new styles: Her signature army pants now come in supple leather, and there was a pair of super-flared jeans inspired by Jane Birkin. She appeared in a few photos on Lotan’s mood board, alongside other late-’60s and early-’70s style icons: Mick Jagger in a ruffled blouse, Rod Stewart in a leopard suit. There was also a woman you might recognize from recent newspapers. Dressed in a camouflage jacket with a floral scarf wrapped around her hair, she was one of the Kurdish female fighters who defeated ISIS in Raqqa, Syria, back in October. She resonated with Lotan not only as a symbol of female strength, but as a reminder of Lotan’s upbringing in the Middle East, when the streets were full of army green. Her camp-floral mash-up inspired Lotan to introduce new prints in her own collection: camo mixed with leopard, a vintage-esque floral, and a snakeskin print.
If a floral blouse is the last thing you’d expect to find in Lotan’s showroom, a leopard slip dress might be a close second. Why was she suddenly drawn to bold, notice-me prints after years of neutrals? Perhaps it was the same reason there were so many suits in this collection. “There’s this feeling of self-reliance among women right now,” she said. “A suit makes you feel powerful, even if it’s just with a T-shirt.” For other women, a leopard dress might foster the same feeling, particularly with one of Lotan’s new leather jackets tossed over the shoulders.
