“We’ve come out focused,” said Josie Natori, who is celebrating 45 years in business this year. In February 2020, she did a show, focused on dressier pieces and everyone knows what happened. “It was so totally irrelevant,” she said bluntly, but Natori’s world is vast, so the slack was picked up but the amount of pajamas and loungewear she sold in the last 18 months.
“It gave us a lot of time to think and to reboot and focus,” she said, adding that a big part was developing their online presence. The Josie Natori world is ever feminine with a mix of approachable shapes, embellished and full of color — those are staples in both of her brands’ DNAs.
For her Natori offering, one floral print was the connective tissue, found on jumpsuits, shirtdresses, embellished on hoodies and even landing on footwear. It looked especially exuberant on the blue and yellow pieces, perfect for a sunny spring garden party. There was also a range of separates in graphic prints, too, offering a polished versatility to her offering.
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The higher-priced Josie Natori range pumps up the color volume and, since it’s geared more toward lifestyle and occasion dressing, each piece is 100 percent silk. Slipdresses, caftans, camisoles and tunic dresses have a bit more intricate beading and embellishments on pieces.
“I believe our clothes are for whatever you want to do with them,” Natori said of where her customer might wear her pieces. “We don’t tell them what to do with it, you either like our sensibility or you don’t.”
After 45 years, she would know.