Celebrating her 40th year in business, Josie Natori looked back to her roots for resort, embarking on what she claims will be only the beginning of her retrospective. “I started with a peasant blouse, that was the first thing I designed,” the designer said. Today’s version featured a modern twist: button-ups with voluminous feminine sleeves featuring hand-cut patterns. She also riffed off on her iconic caftans: “You can wear this on an evening in the city but also in Palm Beach [Florida]. Everything is seasonless and has to make sense to how women live now.”
The collection’s palette was flexible, equally given to going day-into-night, with Natori offering a black, white and gray graphic group, but also bright color splashes over nude or black backgrounds as an alternative in everything from short tunic dresses to miniskirts and culottes. “At the end of the day, it’s all about what the consumer wants,” the designer said. And you don’t last four decades in business, as she has, without knowing what that is.