By Sandra Mateu
Photo by Anthony Garcia
On the second floor of Saks Fifth Avenue at Dadeland Mall, women dressed in beautiful deep purple attires offer samples of a delightful fragrance. A stunning display with orchids and black bamboos compliment the Eastern influenced designs set on the mannequins. Exquisite champagne and savory appetizers go around in silver trays. People of different ages approach Sak’s staff asking where tonight’s host is. She finally arrives and she is wearing one of her modern and feminine designs; A black and white top with a coordinating wrap and a black pencil skirt, a sensual and elegant pair of stilettos and a bold pair of black earrings. She is delighted by the ocassion; she is happy to greet everybody; she is going to show Miami the Natori Fall Ready to Wear collection 2011.
Josie Natori is a Filipina designer who started her journey in the fashion industry with an embroidered blouse, which was adapted into a sleep shirt. Lingerie and sleepwear expanded into home textiles, accessories, bath, fragrance, eyewear, swim and ready-to-wear maintaining Natori’s philosophy of bringing art into life. With a glass of water in her hand and a big smile on her face, Josie Natori sat surrounded by her wonderful pieces with Miami Shoot Magazine to share her thoughts.”I design for women all around the world. I am the biggest fan of women. A woman can do anything she sets her mind to. I’m just here to make the process easier,” said Natori.
Josie designs pieces that make the transition from day into night simpler. Her clothes are versatile guaranteeing variety in the female wardrobe. They are also extremely comfortable. “I don’t believe in suffering. I come from the corporate world and I know what it means to be nicely dressed at all times and to go from the office to dinner and to important meetings. I know the necessities that women have and I want to be there for them, creating pieces that are extremely useful in their lives and that make them look wonderful,” expressed Natori.
Josie is a woman who fervently believes on giving back. She is part of several boards that support many different causes such as women, music, art, and fashion. At this event, Josie and Saks Fifth Avenue supported the Commonwealth Institute donating 10% of all sales in two days to this non-profit organization. The Commonwealth is a group that helps women entrepreneurs, CEOs, and senior corporate executives achieve success in their businesses. They are established in Massachusetts and South Florida and they help women through membership, educational seminars, topic-specific programming, and signature events (www.commonwealthinstitute.com). Another of Natori’s initiatives has been donating $1 for every Bra Finder App download to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation this past October. The Bra Finder is an application on smart phones when looking for the perfect Natori bra for you.
Saks Fifth Avenue’s clientele and Commonwealth’s CEOs had the chance to meet Josie and be advised on fashion matters while beautiful models showed the crowd the latest items of Natori’s collection. One of the best pieces of the night was her black and red silk Arata dress with a Mayumi Wool Cocoon Sweater. The elegance and glamour of the designs wowed the audience who enjoyed of a wonderful afternoon accompanied by great music and amazing company in Miami, Florida.