New Year, New Outlook
Designer Josie Natori’s trademark optimism was sorely tested this year,
but she’s feeling upbeat for 2021
By JOSEPH V. AMODIO
J
osie Natori may be the reign-
ing queen of elegant lingerie
and work-from-home lounge-
wear, but don’t ask her to
work from home herself.
Forty-three years ago, the Philip-
pines native chucked a budding career
at Merrill Lynch—she was the first
female vice president of investment
banking—to start a fashion label with
her husband, Ken Natori, a former man-
aging director of Shearson Lehman.
Today, the Natori Co. founder veers
more toward dressing up than down,
and working-from-office, which is why
she’s been heading into her Midtown
Manhattan headquarters every day
since June. Working from home may be
part of the landscape at every company
moving forward, and that growing
trend may have kept her business afloat
these past few precarious months.
But it’s not really her thing.
Any woman looking stylish in a
Zoom meeting via her couch can thank
Natori, 73, whose debut line of embroi-
dered nightshirts in 1977 revolutionized
the innerwear category, planting the
earliest seeds of what would become
today’s innerwear-as-outerwear man-
date. Since then, the company has grown
into a lifestyle brand sold at top depart-
ment stores like Nordstrom, Blooming-
dale’s, and Neiman Marcus, and boasting
apparel, footwear, and jewelry. But it’s
the core categories—lingerie, sleepwear—
that have been the strongest this year,
when she’s had to furlough workers and
downsize office space.
Sales are healthier than ever on
Natori.com, developed by her son, Ken
Jr., who is now the label’s president.
This can’t make up for ailing brick-and-
mortar retailers, key to a brand like
Natori, which relies on licensing. “But it
helps,” she says.
Penta caught up with Natori to dis-
cuss the retail outlook, philanthropy,
and why you won’t catch her singing a
rap song.
Penta: Coronavirus or not, word is
you’re still go, go, go.
Josie Natori: I’m one of the crazy
ones. You know how they say older
people are susceptible to this thing? I
think it’s the younger people who are
more paranoid. [She chuckles.]
Sounds like you’re pretty fearless.
Well, I’m maybe a little too cavalier.
I’m told I’m too cavalier. Now, you don’t
want to be stupid or careless. We do
masks, the proper things. But I’m not
going to paralyze myself.
You’ve been called an eternal
optimist.
I am. What are you going to do?
Moan? Stomp your feet?
How useful is optimism for
entrepreneurs?
My father was a self-made man.
He taught me that when you’re on top,
life will go down, and when you’re
down, life will go up. If you can’t have
that positive spirit, then forget it. Fold
up and go, right? Entrepreneurs have
to be tenacious.
How are you feeling about retail
in 2021?
Back in March was maybe the first
time I can say, even though I’m an opti-
mist, I was kind of panicked inside.
We had to make hard decisions about
layoffs. Furloughs. Cutting overhead.
We’d signed for a lease but renegotiated,
and cut the square footage. And today,
I have to say, we’re definitely in a better
place than we thought we would be. In
2021, we’ll increase the penetration of
direct-to-consumer business. This has
forced us—it forced me, in particular—to
focus on the things that were working,
and take a pause on those that were not.
Things that are working—does that
still include philanthropy?
That’s what I love most. I’m on the
board of Orchestra of St. Luke’s,
the Asian Cultural Council, Statue of
Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, and
on our website we support a number of
organizations helping women and chil-
dren. That’s something I admire about
this country—Americans have a real
sense of philanthropy. It’s impressive.
Many people accept that this is a part
of life. Obviously, it’s nice if you can be
Bill Gates, right? [She chuckles.] But
you know what? It doesn’t matter how
much you give—every little bit counts.
Especially this year, which has
amplified need in an uncanny way.
Oh! It’s really testing the creativity of
a lot of people. Like with entertainers,
finding new ways to perform.
You’re a musician. Have you been
playing? Does it help clear the mind?
Yes. I still have a coach and I prac-
tice singing and piano once a week. I
play concertos. Chopin, Rachmaninoff,
Grieg. During the [start of the] pan-
demic, on Instagram, I did some live
concerts. About seven of them. It was
fun. That was mostly popular music.
I’m from the old school—don’t ask me
to sing or play anything rap. But I’ll
play Broadway, anything from the ’40s,
’50s, ’60s. My real love is music. But I
don’t have the temperament to have
played professionally.
These days, big business seems as
unpredictable as show business.
We don’t know what’s coming. I’m
eager to see what the new normal will
be. It will emerge. New ideas, new con-
cepts will come. That’s how it happens.
That’s what makes me excited about
being in business. You have to keep
evolving. Otherwise, it’s too boring.
Evolving? Well, you certainly seem
game for that.
Ohhh, I am. [She laughs.] I am
always game.
“ We don’t
know what’s
coming.
I’m eager to
see what the
new normal
will be. It will
emerge.”
Courtesy of Natori Co. Josie Natori
December 2020 | InspiredByPenta.com | 21