The Education of Nili Lotan

Summary

Fashion People: “The Education of Nili Lotan”

Podcast: Fashion People by Audacy | Puck
Host: Lauren Sherman
Guest: Nili Lotan (Fashion Designer)
Date: May 1, 2026

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Brief Overview

In this episode of Fashion People, Lauren Sherman sits down with acclaimed New York designer Nili Lotan to trace her remarkable journey—immigrating from Israel, building a career in American fashion, and launching her globally successful namesake label in her late 40s. The discussion explores themes of heritage, parenthood, creativity, entrepreneurship, and the challenge of remaining authentic in an industry dominated by trends and external expectations. Lotan candidly shares insights on personal growth, the value of consistency, and the unique energy of New York City, making this episode a compelling listen for industry insiders and fashion enthusiasts alike.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nili Lotan’s Background and Upbringing

• Heritage & Family Roots
  • Parents fled Europe for Israel post-WWII; met in a refugee camp ([07:12]).
  • Grew up in a peaceful Israeli town with a strong European influence: “The codes of dressing, looking always elegant even though you’re going to take off the trash… the importance of looking good for your own self and not for others.” (B, [08:46])
• Values & Manners
  • Emphasizes “quality over quantity” and knowing your heritage to chart your future ([08:46]-[09:35]).
• Education & Artistic Leanings
  • Inspired by her mother, a frustrated textile artist, to pursue visual arts and design ([11:11]–[14:05]).
  • Attended a pioneering fashion program in Israel; one of 11 inaugural students ([12:36]).

2. The Role of Parents in Career Choices

• Lotan’s mother encouraged her to pursue design, learning from the mistake of pushing her older sister toward law ([14:08]–[16:03]).
• “I think this is definitely a lesson to parents. Listen to your kids, see what their gifts are and just help them pursue them rather than pursue your own dreams.” (B, [15:28])

3. Path to New York

• Moved to NY in 1980 for her then-husband’s studies; preferred Paris but “the universe is accurate and this is where I needed to be.” (B, [17:13])
• Describes New York’s unique energy: “The fact that everyone is not from New York, that’s what makes New York not only so cool, but [it gives] the energy of people who want to make it.” (B, [20:07])
• Comparison with Tel Aviv and Paris: “If personal growth is the mission, there’s nothing better than New York to be inspired, by everyone around me and… be pushed by that energy to the highest level.” (B, [20:07]–[22:02])

4. Learning from Industry Giants

• Spent 23 years working for others before founding her brand ([22:51]).
• Most influenced by Ralph Lauren: “To create a brand, you need one voice. All the other companies, when you have committees and boards... very hard to maintain one strong point of view.” (B, [23:42])
• “His strength was consistently doing the same thing. That’s what really drives me, that’s what informs me.” (B, [26:15])
• On trends and patience: “Let them have their moment. You can’t win every single season, you can’t win every trend if you’re true to yourself.” (A, relaying a Ralph Lauren story, [24:58]–[26:15])

5. Creative Process & Brand Authenticity

• Lotan curates her world, filtering noise and trends:
  • “I can’t have noises that are not the song that I want to hear… maturity to understand this is who I am, this is what I want, this is what I do.” (B, [26:15])
  • “The trends find me… I’m not looking for it, I don’t care for it.” (B, [28:40])
• On social media:
  • “I do my own. I don’t look at others as much… I’m not trying to please anyone, I’m trying to communicate.” (B, [28:42])

6. Navigating Her Israeli Identity Amid Conflict

• Lotan separates her brand from her national origins, but not from her personal feelings:
  • “My brand is an expression of a human being, of me. I am complex person. The Israeli piece… contributed a lot to who I am and what I do.” (B, [30:43])
  • “When I talk about it, it comes out of empathy… not from facts, not from judgment… just one human to another.” (B, [31:52])
  • Admits to confusion and keeping some opinions private: “To be honest, I’m really confused. Yeah, it’s not good. So I’m just kind of waiting to see where it’s going.” (B, [32:15])

7. Launching Her Brand in Her 40s

• The catalyst: a desire for freedom and self-expression, not a business plan
  • “When I actually came to New York… the first thing that I thought is open my own business… My dad was, ‘You need to give it a bit more time.’ And he was right. I waited 23 years.” (B, [32:58])
  • Decision was “very intuitive and instinctive… Not from identifying a business opportunity but from a desire of freedom and self-growth.” (B, [33:55])
• Major life changes:
  • “I left 27 years of marriage at the same time… divorced, moved to the city… started my own business.” (B, [37:54])
• Faith in oneself:
  • “No business plan, no partners, no money. Literally starting from scratch… trusting my own self…” (B, [36:38])

8. Major Life Decisions—Intuitive vs. Calculated

• Lotan and Sherman both note that the biggest, most important decisions are often the easiest to make:
  • “When you take a decision and you feel good about it, it’s the right decision. If there is a doubt, think twice.” (B, [38:37])

9. Business Growth & Philosophy

• Growth: From wholesale to a near-even split between wholesale and DTC:
  • “Wholesale is 50% of my business… I believe we are [in] 200 or 250 specialty stores… The other 50% is direct-to-consumer—nine stores and ecommerce.” (B, [41:24])
• Staying true to her ethos:
  • “I do what I want, and I do it for myself. The fact that I have so much impact and effect on other women is my greatest pleasure and my greatest intention.” (B, [41:24])
  • “I’m not there to get [awards]… I’m really here for two things: personal growth and to be of any help to women that connects to my aesthetic, to my spirit, to my authenticity.” (B, [41:24])
  • Self-financed, independent, and authentic: “I don’t go by any rule but myself.” (B, [41:24])
• On the brand’s European spirit:
  • Advocates for teaching young women self-confidence through style, as is customary in France:
    • “From a very young age… [the French girl] knows what makes her look beautiful… here we don’t teach our daughters what is it that’s gonna make you feel good about yourself.” (B, [44:35])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the power of personal lane:
  “There is a content, there is a accomplishment that I feel. And the reason why I feel it—because I call it I’m in my right lane… I mean when you play bowling and there is a lane and the ball goes in that one lane, I’m in the right lane and the ball is going.” (B, [36:38])

• On brand building:
  “To create a brand, you need one voice. All the other companies, when you have committees and boards... very hard to maintain one strong point of view.” (B, [23:42])

• On intuition:
  “The big decisions… are usually taken very quickly… If there is a doubt, there is no doubt.” (B, [38:35])

• On New York:
  “If personal growth is the mission… there’s nothing better than New York to be inspired by everyone around me and, you know, be pushed by that energy to the highest level.” (B, [21:28])

• On trends:
  “People say, oh Ralph, you keep doing the same thing. It’s boring. You know, that was his strength, consistently doing anything.” (B, [26:15])

• On social media and trends:
  “I am very involved in social media. I do my own. I don’t look at others as much… I’m not trying to please anyone, I’m trying to communicate.” (B, [28:42])

• On personal growth and business:
  “I’m here to tell a story. I’m here to share a story. I’m here to do what I want to do, when I want to do.” (B, [41:24])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Early upbringing and parental influence: [07:12]–[16:03]
• Journey to New York: [17:13]–[22:02]
• Working for Ralph Lauren and lessons in branding: [22:51]–[28:40]
• Navigating heritage and war as a public figure: [30:41]–[32:20]
• Launching her brand later in life: [32:58]–[37:54]
• Life decisions and trust in intuition: [38:23]–[39:54]
• Brand growth and maintaining authenticity: [40:41]–[45:57]

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Final Thoughts

Lauren Sherman’s conversation with Nili Lotan is a masterclass in authenticity, resilience, and pursuing one’s creative vision against the odds. Lotan’s journey—from small-town Israel to the apex of New York fashion—is as much about personal evolution as it is about business. By embracing her background, listening to intuition, and resisting industry noise, she built not just a brand, but a philosophy: Dress for yourself, act with empathy, and let personal growth lead the way.

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For industry watchers and aspiring entrepreneurs, this episode provides both practical insights and deep inspiration.

Transcript

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[A]

Hello and welcome to Fashion People. I'm Lauren Sherman, writer of Buck Star Fashion and Beauty Memo Line Sheet. And today with me on the show is designer Neely Lotan. We're talking about New York fashion, starting a business in your 40s, motherhood, and so much more. Before we get going, I wanted to remind you that if you like this podcast, you'll definitely love Puck, where I send an email called Line Sheet. If you're a fashion person, you get that reference. It's an original look at what's really going on inside the fashion and beauty industries. Line sheet is scoopy, analytical and above all, fun. Along with me, a subscription to Puck gains you access to an unmatched roster of experts reporting on powerful people and companies in entertainment, media, sports, politics, finance, the art world and much more. If you're interested listeners of fashion people get a discount. Just go to Puck News fashionpeople to join Puck or start a free trial. Happy Friday everyone. Hope you had a great week. I am in New York for a while. It was so nice to see many of you yesterday at Tory Burch's founders breakfast for her foundation. It took place at the pier. They honored Anna Wintour everyone was wearing, quite rightly I'd say Tory Burch and Chanel. There were two other people with my Chanel jacket. I almost wore it and decided not to. So I'm wearing it today for a bridal shower. Happy wedding to Gabby Gabrielle. I'm very excited to see her uptown with some old school fashioned people today. But anyway, everyone looked amazing. It was really, really nice, as we all know. I love Tori. She's. She's just, she's my president. But she and Anna Wintour, the thing that they have in common, they're both like politicians in a way and I mean that in a good way. But they can get anyone to show up and a lot of people showed up for both of them and it was just really nice. So I was so happy, happy to be there. Last night I co hosted with my friend Dave Goldweitz from Glam Squad, a private dinner at Gem home. The food was amazing. Thank you to Flynn, who remains best in class. And thank you to Dave, the Glam Squad boss for making these things so fun. I like the mix of the dinners we do together in particular because it's not like the typical crew. There are a lot more beauty insiders and then we have some mutual friends. So it was just really great. Dave's amazing wife Sarah Cristobal was there. You know, we go way, way back, all the way to Yahoo style. Sarah when she used to pay me like four bucks a word or something to write who knows what. Anyway, I will be here for I have another dinner next week and hopefully I will see you around. And if you can't get enough of me, because I know you can't or Malik Morris or Sarah Shapiro or Rachel Strugatz. This week in line. She was awesome. I had a scoop about Jacques Marie Maje, their fundraising efforts. I had more on Delphine Arnaud's tenure at Dior and how it's going. Rachel had an amazing inside story on the fate of Bobby Brown, the brand. Malik got into the future of Adidas. And Sarah shared proprietary info on what's selling best beauty Products wise. Thanks to our buds at Shop My. They helped her out with that. It's a really good time. Hope to see you around this weekend and if maybe even at a 10am showing of the Devil Wears Prada, which I hear is actually very good. Thank you, Amanda Dobbins, for. For breaking it down for me on the big picture. Let's get going. Neely Loten, welcome to Fashion people.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[A]

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

[B]

I have tomato and cucumber salad. What is called Israeli salad. I had a toast with avocado and a coffee.

[A]

I actually listened to you on. You were on Ruthie Rogers podcast, right?

[B]

Yes, yes, yes.

[A]

I listened to that. I love her podcast and love when she has fashion industry people on and really enjoyed hearing about your food life.

[B]

Thank you. Yeah, we actually maintain always a pretty, pretty intense breakfast. I mean, to me, this is the most important meal of the day. I know a lot of people skipping it and starting to eat later, which is a way of losing weight. But since I'm not looking to lose weight, but I'm just looking to look great, to be. Thank you. To be strong and carry on the day. I feed myself in the morning so I can do everything that I need to do.

[A]

I understand. I think people should eat less dinner, but our lives make it hard. You're an inspiration. So how long have you been living

[B]

in New York for 46 years. Wow.

[A]

You were born in Israel to European parents?

[B]

Yes, my parents immigrated to Israel. They actually escaped from Europe in 1947. They were already in Israel and they both came from different places and they met in a refugee camp and immigrated to Israel. Obviously there was a mode of time when they were waiting for certificates to get in and they. They came to Israel. I have an older sister. She's eight years older than me. She was born first and then eight years later, exactly on Passover night. I was born and they raised me in a small little town overlooking the Mediterranean. Very peaceful, tiny. 75,000 people and close to Tel Aviv enough to be exposed to. This was the biggest, you know, cultural city in Israel at the time. Still is, but pretty much quiet on the beach, not much exposure to fashion, very much keeping a European lifestyle at home with. With all that it means manners and etiquettes and. And principles, lots of sun. That was my childhood.

[A]

What do you think a European lifestyle? What does that mean to you in terms of the way you lived that was maybe different than some of the people that you grew up with?

[B]

I think there are Certain values that I was given from a very young age to quality rather than quantity, which I think it is different here to history, to past, to know where we're coming from in order to know where we're going. And I think these values took me to become who I am. I mean, the codes of dressing, looking always elegant even though you're going to take off the trash outside, the importance of looking good for your own self and not for others, et cetera, et cetera. But those are the most important thing.

[A]

Yeah, I feel that one very intensely. I spend a lot of time in Europe and my family and I are in Paris for a few months trying it out.

[B]

Wow, I'm lucky.

[A]

My husband. Yeah, it's really. It's been really fun. My kid is learning French so fast. It's wild. But. But the thing that I've been. I talk about with people here all the time is like the sense of dressing and taking care of yourself and all of that is like part of the culture that it isn't in America. And. And it's in the same way that like education outside of school. I mean education in school is very different too. But like the education you get around what it means to like live a good life is just very different here than it is in the US And I remember talking to Robbie Myers, who was the editor of Elle magazine for a long time, and she said she always approached her Elle as tried to approach in the way the French approach fashion, which is that it's just like another part of culture and your like your life pursuits. And I see that in your work very much that like.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

There's like a pleasure. And even though you do a lot of things that could be called essentials or whatever, there's a real pleasure to like buying them and wearing them and getting enjoyment out of them.

[B]

That's.

[A]

It's interesting. What made you want to be a fashion designer? Or did you know when you moved to New York that that's what you wanted to do?

[B]

By the time I got to New York, yes, because I was. I went to fashion school. So that was my journey, but earlier than that. So I was always. My strength was in visual art and that was my interest. Not so much the math piece. It wasn't really. More. I'm always gravitated to the visual art. And my mom was a textile designer and she came to Israel. She couldn't pursue herself career wise, so she. The majority of her journey was being a mom and a grandma, which she did wonderfully, but never really Pursued a career. And she was very much my biggest supporter and fan to be able to combine the two. And I think that she, through me, she thought she would pursue herself or she wanted to see me continuing something that she couldn't. And it happened. You know, I went to the Israeli army. I was there for two years like everyone else. And when my service ended, she actually pointed to me a school that just became recognized as an academic school, that you actually get a bachelor degree. And it's a full academic school. And it was affiliated with FIT and this. It's called Shanghai College now. It's been, you know, been there for years. And there were 11 kids, basically, that got into the school. I was one of them and pretty much curved my direction into fashion. I was always interested in architecture, and I'm actually now practicing it many years after because it's an area that I love. But I think. And I'm convinced that this was not only the right decision, but really was the mission of my life. I'm not sure that the clothes are. But certainly working with women and providing women with what I do is where I belong. So I always thank my mom for directing me that way. I think one of the things that we have as parents, their responsibility is to help our children find their lane. Because we know them so well. When they get to the age of 17, 18, 19, 20, where they're actually starting to take direction, that I thought it was very helpful for me. I don't know if I would have taken this decision if she would have not directed me that way. Yeah.

[A]

That's interesting.

[B]

So that's how I got to fashion.

[A]

Yeah. And also, it's just so rare to hear that a parent was encouraging someone to become a fashion designer. You know, like so many people, it's like doctor, lawyer. I don't know if that happens anymore.

[B]

I'm curious. Well, she was an artist, and she saw the artist in me. And they already went through the experience of trying to persuade my sister to be a lawyer and didn't work out. So they learned their lesson, and they said, okay, we're gonna let her do what she's really meant to be doing. And my dad was not a big fan. You know, he, I'm sure, would have been much happier if I'd been a lawyer or continued his own business. But I think he already recognized the fact that we all each come to this world with certain gifts and qualities and. And we need to identify them and pursue them. My gifts were very clearly into the direction, not necessarily fashion designer, but an artistic, creative person. So why push me to be a lawyer? That would be the wrong thing to do. And I think he realized that when I eight years later followed my sister. My sister loved to dance and they persuaded her to go and become a lawyer. She went to law school and dropped the last year and later on pursued art. So I think this is definitely a lesson to parents. Listen to your kids, see what their gifts are and just help them pursue them rather than pursue your own dreams. It happens. So that my mom, her dream was to actually be what happened to be meant to be for me. Maybe not in the same way, but she was definitely very artistic.

[A]

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[B]

living just a B or B plus life?

[A]

It's so dangerous to live that.

[B]

More dangerous than a B or a C plus life? Because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming youg People Think okay, an A plus life

[A]

is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming youg wherever you get your podcasts. What drew you to New York in particular?

[B]

Simple. My husband at the time finished his he was a pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He finished his requirement and wanted to study. And he was already, I believe it was 23. And so he was a little older and wanted to study in the US and he basically asked me would I join him. We were just newly married and I joined him. I had no aspiration to be in New York at the time. This was 1980. I would have gone to Paris in no time. I would have preferred to go to Paris, but this is where he needed to go and I joined him. And as we all know, the universe is accurate and this is where I needed to be.

[A]

Yeah. Are you happy that you ended up

[B]

there and not in Europe, in Paris? I'm happy where I am. I'm happy where I am. I think I'M in the right place. I think New York had given me all the opportunities that I needed to really pursue myself. And I did. I took it and I ran with it. And I think New York being so a hub for culture and art and so many foreigners and strangers, I never felt that I didn't belong. I was, you know, immediately felt that I can, is the place where I can pursue my dreams. Through the first years I've always had the thoughts of going back because you know, we Israelis grew up with a lot of attachment to the country because of our parents experience. So I felt that, you know, I've always felt torn, you know, not really continuing my parents journey. But then I realized that this is where I should be, this is what's good for me. And I agreed with it and continued to just flow with what happened. So it kind of happened to me and then I just, okay, it happened for a reason and I'm just going to go.

[A]

It really is the only city that I've lived in that feels like it belongs to the people who come to it. Like it doesn't belong to. I interviewed Raf Decardenas earlier today for an upcoming episode and he's from New York and so he was talking about being friends with people who he went

[B]

to high school with.

[A]

Which is so funny to me because like no one's from New York. And that's what makes it. Especially when you're young, I think you feel very comfortable.

[B]

I agree. I think what makes New York what it is is the fact that everyone who comes to New York bring their own and whatever they bring in their culture, their upbringing, their principles of life, you know, that what makes New York what it is, New York is a place where the people actually the consistency of the people and the fact that everyone is not from New York, that's New York not only so cool, but the energy of people who want to make it that came from smaller places, that came from places that they couldn't pursue their art or their strength. Everyone is so driven. So the energy, like when I ever question why I'm in New York, I just need to get to the street and get the answer. The energy on the street is for doing, making, growing, you know, where in so many places in the world where you can enjoy the sun and sit and relax, but there is no urgency, there is no sense of growth. And I think if you're that kind of person like myself, that personal growth is the mission and personal growth is what I want to expect from myself. There's nothing better than New York be inspired, but everyone around me and, you know, be pushed by that energy to the highest level. People sometimes ask me, could you have done the same thing in Tel Aviv? Probably not. And not because someone had given me a ticket here that I would have not had gotten in in New York or because New York had. It's about one pursuing themselves in. Within this energy. I think Tel Aviv has a very similar energy, by the way, and so is Paris. But New York is very unique.

[A]

Well, it's also the entrepreneurship thing in the US And I know you worked for. I don't want to leapfrog to launching your brand just yet, but you worked for a lot of American companies that were run by the people who founded them. And it's such an American thing. Again, I was talking to Ralph. Maybe we'll run these back to back because they're both such New York stories. But about his time at Calvin Klein in the 90s and like those designers were larger than life. What was your experience like getting into the studios at these places? Like, where did you work, what were some of your favorite places, and what did you learn there that made you want to launch your own brand?

[B]

So out of. I mean, I worked for 23 years for other companies. The one I would mention here that really impacted me the most was working for Ralph. And I think the re. You know, I worked for Liz Claiborne, who as a company was extremely impressive from size, from. From organization, from. When I say size, I mean the scale of the business and their revenues. When I joined them, they were $2.3 billion company. We're talking about 1980. They were traded in the stock market. No one in fashion had brought themselves to this scale of a business that's ran so efficiently yet. And of course it impacted me and it gave me a lot of tools. But the ones I connected the most was really Ralph. Because being a creative person and my background, what I really was open to learn and hear from the Ralph's business was him, was him as a founder. The consistency, the perseverance. He always used to say something that I took. And I don't even know if he remembers it or anyone else remember that, but he used to say, there's only one voice. And to me, to create a brand, you need one voice. All the other companies, when you have committees and boards and so forth, very hard to maintain one strong point of view. And I think this is what I loved about Ralph. There was such a strong point of view, such a strong, consistent message. And so maybe the organizational skills were not there. And maybe it wasn't as organized as Claiborne and the certainly were not at the time as profitable as Claiborne. But they build a brand which was very impressive to me and gave me a lot of reason and thoughts of how to do my own. And who was I with recently?

[A]

Oh, it was Sid Mashburn. I don't know if you overlapped with him. He did menswear at Ralph, but he said something to me really interesting. He and his wife Ann own these stores that it's like very traditional clothing, like updated trad or whatever in the south mostly. But they have it in New York and la. And I was in Nashville and he was in his store and I got to say hi to him and he said to me that one thing Ralph said to him and I feel like you probably subscribe to this also is there was the era when Armani was getting big and Calvin and like the minimalism and all that stuff's happening. And they went into him and they were like, what do we do? Like, and he said, let them have their moment. Instead of being like, well we need to figure it out, blah blah blah. He was just like, let them have their moment. It was so wise. And like when you think of like long term thinking and brand building and all that stuff, like that's how you need to be. You can't win every single season, you can't win every trend if you're true to yourself. And. And I just thought it was like chilling to me.

[B]

I agree 100%. Couldn't agree more. I think that's. That is. And he won. Look at him, look where he is now. You know, I don't think there is more impressive brand today representing the US fashion than Ralph. And I think he's a true visionary and he got it and he understood it and he stuck to his own. I remember years where people saying, oh Ralph, you keep doing the same thing. It's boring. You know, that was his strength, consistently doing anything. And that what really what drives me and that's what informs me. You know, people ask me, you know, what I'm inspired by and on and on. I really created my own world. And if you could see around me, I'm surrounded with my own world that keeps me intact with the things that are important to me, the things that I love, the things that inspire me. And I don't go out of it. I don't leave my studio. I mean I do obviously. And I'm being inspired by films that I see and music that I hear. But the film and the music that I see, I choose. And I choose them because they speak my language. There's so much information today. If I am in a place that I don't feel that I'm relating to, I leave. I can't have noises, I can't have anything interfere with my clear understanding of what I like and what I love. And even conversation. If I see conversations going somewhere, I'm like, sorry, I gotta cut it. I can have noises that are not the song that I want to hear. And it may be an age factor, I don't know, but it's a certain maturity to understand this is who I am, this is what I want, this is what I do. And honestly, I don't really care what the trends right now. Somewhere the trends are being driven and informed by what's going on in the world. So eventually I always laugh and I say the trends find me because I meet them somewhere, because I'm inspired by whatever's going on in the world. But I'm not really looking for it. I don't care for it, you know, especially in social media. I so don't care about it, you know what's going on.

[A]

You don't look at all and use it.

[B]

I am very involved in social media. I do my own. I don't look at others as much. I look at obviously the feeds that inspire me. But I am putting aside everything that's trending. I don't participate, I really do my thing. I speak whatever I do, I speak my language, I talk about my brand, I talk about myself. I talk about things that I feel for. I saw a beautiful movie, I'll talk about it. I'm affected by what's going on in Israel. Speak about it. I am very expressive, but only the things that really matters to me. I'm not trying to please anyone. I'm trying to communicate.

[A]

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Red Bull gives you wings. Visit red bull.com brightsummer ahead to learn more. See you this summer. For the last couple years, I don't want to make you feel like I'm like putting you on the. Whatever that's called. So if you don't want to answer, it's totally fine. But like, how have you with Everything. The war that's happening right now and all these things that have been happening. And as an Israeli, how have you managed that stuff? Because I assume that your team or you are getting messages constantly. How do you balance saying how you feel about these things as a human and knowing that you have a fashion brand again? Do you produce in Israel too?

[B]

No. No, no, no.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So without going too much into it, I separate my brand from where I am from. I cannot separate myself from where I am from, nor do I want to. So it's been a complex situation right now. Without expressing my opinions, it's been complex, and I try not to bring it into my brand because it's nothing to do with it. My brand is an expression of a human being, of me. I am complex person. The Israeli piece, it's a very strong piece of me and I think contributed a lot to who I am and what I do. That said, my approach to it is really from a human perspective. So when I talk about. And if I talk about, it comes out of empathy. It comes out of feelings. And it doesn't come from judgment, and it doesn't come from facts, historical fact. It's really just one human to another and expressing empathy, because we need a lot of empathy right now to everyone. So I don't really get into the, you know, the politics of it. Yeah, I never do. I really just express, you know, feelings. And I haven't been doing this recently because, to be honest, I'm really confused. Yeah, it's not good.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm just kind of waiting to see where it's going.

[A]

It's. It's a lot. I mean, it's a lot for any person, but also a leader who has a team and who is a public figure and all that stuff to navigate. So thank you for being willing to. To talk about it a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Why did you start your brand? Like, obviously you. Something was inside of you. Like this world was inside of you. Did you feel it for a long time? You were working at other companies for 23 years. Was it building up inside of you for a long time, or was it a sudden thing where you just, like, felt like, I need to do this?

[B]

I think it must have, as I do believe that we're kind of in a direction of something that we not always know what it is, but it's kind of with us, and everything that we do leads towards that, towards the next thing. So I am pretty much an entrepreneur in my soul. I mean, my father was an incredible entrepreneur and very successful And I think I've got a lot of that bug in me. And when I actually came to New York and I was trying to look for a job and couldn't find any, the first thing that I thought is open my own business and my own brand. And I'd reached out to my dad at the time and he was, you need to give it a bit more time. You just graduated school. And he was right. I waited 23 years and then I made the decision that I feel like doing something of my own. And it's interesting, I just spoke about it last night. It was very intuitive and instinctive. It was not something that I thought about it before. As I said, it was in me, but it wasn't in my conscious of thoughts. And when I asked myself the question today, what was it and where did I get the nerves to do what I did, I can tell you that it didn't come from identifying a business opportunity or identifying some sort of a product that I felt that didn't exist. Like a lot of businesses start, it really was driven by two things, by a desire of freedom and a design of self growth. And I was in my late 40s, I already had three children, had a long career. And there's something that I encourage people and women in particular to do is to ask themselves. I used to say every 10 years, but it could be even more often, am I happy? Am I in the right lane as I go? I think I'm in the right lane. I'm very happy where I am now. I'm not going to tell you that. I'm getting every morning with excitement. And this is the best thing that can be. We all have our own reasons why, you know, we could be sometimes have other feelings than happiness. But there is a content, there is a accomplishment that I feel. And the reason why I feel it, because I call it I'm in my right lane. Lane. I mean like when you play bowling and there is a lane and the ball goes in that one lane, I'm in the right lane and the ball is going. And what I was missing at that moment of my life is the freedom to express myself on an artistic level. I was inspired by all the places that I worked for. I admired all these beautiful businesses that I worked for. But it was that moment that I felt. I think it's time for me to express myself. And the reason why I wanted to express myself or the need, and again, I can only say it now, I couldn't say it at that moment is because what I'm Driven by is my personal growth. And to me, where I'm going is not a number, it's not a size and it's not a place. It's a place where I feel accomplished. And right now I feel very accomplished. Although I have a long way to go, but I feel accomplished. I feel good. So I feel everything that I've done so far, there was a reason for it. I'm in the right lane, what's next? And I think that's really what made this decision. I felt that it was time for me, in order for me to step up to the next stage of growth, I needed to do my own. And I started it without any money, without any team, without any business plan, any understanding. What I'm seeing now, that could happen or will happen. Basically trusting my own self, believing that it was successful in the 23 years to create successful businesses for others, I will be probably successful to build my own. And it's based on the trust that I had for myself. No business plan, no partners, no money. Literally starting from scratch. The interesting part is that I did something that took a lot of nerves and very ballsy that I left 27 years of marriage at the same time.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

So I literally, in one year, divorced, moved to the city. I was raising my children in suburbia, 40 minutes out of New York, took my little one that was nine years old, moved to the city, started my own business. And that takes quite a lot. But yet, if you're asking me now, you know, it was so obvious and basically a natural progress of my growth.

[A]

I think about something a lot and I wonder if you have experienced this. Every big decision in my life that I've ever made has been very easy to make.

[B]

Yeah. Because it was the right decision.

[A]

Yeah. Do you feel that way?

[B]

I absolutely feel like that. I feel like, you know, I say it all the time, the big decisions, like if you're going to marry someone or not, which career decisions are usually be taken very quickly. When my husband asked me if I marry him, I said yes. I didn't even finish the. He didn't even finish the sentence. And I never thought about it. I'm talking about my husband, my current husband. So was my first husband. But the second one, it's even more clear to me because the first one I might have expected to get married. The second one I didn't. And I didn't know it was going that way. And when he asked me, it was so nonchalant and in the coffee place that. And the answer was so quick to Go that it's very interesting because when you think about whether I'm going to buy this property or not going to buy this property, sometimes you think. And I tell my kids, if there is a doubt, there is no doubt. I raise my daughter on that phrase. My son argues with me, but I think my little one agrees. And I think that's what it is. When you take a decision and you feel good about it, it's the right decision. If there is a doubt, think twice.

[A]

We don't have a lot more time. But I want to ask you about how that has played out with your business, because anyone Googles your business and looks at annual revenue will see that it's become a very, very big business, which is so impressive. You don't do Fashion Week. You don't play the game in. I mean, obviously you do. I don't know if you have any wholesale. You've stores. I have also. You have wholesale. But you're. You've. You started your own. You opened stores very early, and you're in the process. Like, you did things the way you wanted to do it. And looking now at this giant business that you've built, you have all these amazing retail outposts.

[B]

We.

[A]

You and I met across the way at your Sycamore location in Los Angeles, which is so good. And it's funny, you said the trends don't follow you because, you know, pencil skirts are everywhere now. And I wanted one a few years ago, and I had to buy one from you because you were the only one that had one, because it's just like a. It's an essential. And you had like. It was. It was very interesting. But how has that kind of informed the development of your brand to this point now, where it's global, it's. You have built your own version of. Of what Ralph has been building for the last 70 years or however long. 60 years, you know.

[B]

True. Thank you. Thank you for recognizing it. I do what I want, and I do it for myself. And in the way. The fact that I have so much impact and effect on other women is my greatest pleasure and my greatest intention. But honestly, I do it for myself. So I'm not there to impress anyone. I'm not there to get the CFDA award of the year. I'm not there to do a fashion show and bow at the end. I'm really here for two things. For personal growth and to be of any help to women that connects to my aesthetic, to my spirit, to my authenticity, and say, this woman is cool. I like what she's wearing. I like what she's projecting and because I wasn't gifted with creating clothes for myself, I'm going to stick with her. I'm basically started with wholesale and Today wholesale is 50% of my business. I sell into every store that you can think of. From Paris, Le Beaumarchais, Seoul. We have four stores. It's international business wholesale. I sell net, a protein mytheresa, you name it. Shopbop to many, many, many privately owned stores. I believe we are 200 or 250 specialty stores. It's 50% of my business. The other 50% is direct to consumer. I have by the end of this year I think we're going to be nine stores and the other half is E Commerce again. I think what I've never done a fashion show. I think one's very little one. Everybody's telling me it's about time but even if I do will not be a season to me because a season does not tell enough your story. It needs to be a brand. It needs to be something that tells my story. I'm here to tell a story. I'm here to share a story. I'm here to do what I want to do, when I want to do. This is one of the reasons I'm self financed, you know, for all these years. I think one of the beside our money, I don't know how many designer had brought their business to my scale on ready to wear, not on shoes and bags which is just yet to start and build their business basically on connection with women, on trust, on authenticity. And I'm very proud of it. And I don't go by any rule but myself. And if that resonates with women, then that's my clients, you know. And I'm not trying to find anyone who doesn't resonate with it. The business is big enough, almost too big. I'm now, you know, I've been, you know, launching a lot of new categories. The bags is doing phenomenally. And again, even when I start a new category, I don't do the mini, medium, large size of every bag. That's not what I do. I'm not pushing merchandise into people's hands. I'm really just doing what I feel authentically what I need. And why would I present anything else than what I wear, what I want, what I need, what I experience, what I've learned through my life. You know, one of the things that I'm preaching for is wardrobe. Going back to the French girl that from a very young age, you know, it knows what makes her look beautiful? And why is it here that we don't teach our daughters? What is it that's gonna make you feel good about yourself? Forget beautiful, okay? And it's very simple. And I think that's, you know, that's what's so beautiful. Talking about European culture is the understanding that the clothes is part of you. It's how you communicate. It's how you feel. And to me, this is what's important. It's not about the show. It's not about the trend. It's about how does woman feel in my clothes. And I basically want to transfer the feeling, the state of mind, the spirit of what I feel to you. And if I got it, I won the biggest prize ever.

[A]

Mila, you are awesome. Thank you so much.

[B]

Thank you so much.

[A]

Fashion People is a presentation of Odyssey in partnership with Puck. The show is produced and edited by Molly Newton. Special thanks to Puck co founder John Kelly, executive editor Ben Landy, producer Maya Tribbett, and director of editorial operations Gabby Grossman. An additional thanks to the team at Odyssey, Kelly Turner and Bob Tabador. She does a lot for your family. Mother's Day is your chance to show her you see it with a gift from a brand trusted for generations to help people get the moment right. 1-800-flowers with double blooms from 1-800-flowers. Buy one dozen roses and get another dozen for free. It's a bigger Gesture backed by 50 years of experience delivering fresh flowers so you can feel confident sending something that lands. Show up for her with Double blooms at 1-800-FLowers.com Spotify. That's 1-800-FLowers. Com Spotify.