During the pandemic, Nili Lotan got in the habit of photographing her collections in two locations: upstate New York and Manhattan. She remixed the looks according to their surroundings, but the images published on Vogue Runway of late have been primarily set in the country. They reflected our collective desire to escape to nature and unwind, but anyone who gave up their downtown apartment might tell you that impulse was short-lived. The city is unquestionably where you want to be right now, immersed in the energy and spirit of a historic re-emergence. Lotan feels it, too: Her spring 2022 collection was photographed not upstate, but right here in Tribeca, with a renewed emphasis on sleek tailoring and ultra-refined separates.
To say Lotan is abandoning sweats and leisurewear altogether isn’t accurate; her NL core collection is still a reliable source for army joggers, soft hoodies, and slouchy tees. But her excitement lies in spring’s spare and luxurious sensibility. The ivory suits in trim, elongated proportions will be familiar to NL fans; ditto the ultra-wide-leg chinos and buttery suede jackets. The surprises came in Lotan’s new eveningwear experiments—A-line gowns and tunics intricately hand-stitched with gold threads—and a new group of slinky jersey tunics, blouses, and cropped flares, to be worn together or broken apart. One look combined a gilded-edge tunic with the comfy jersey pants and flat sandals, a balance of elegance and ease that feels just right for re-entry.
