Josie Natori is stepping into her own designs, sharing favorite looks from her fall 2026 collection and thanking followers for their enthusiastic response.
The Filipino American fashion entrepreneur posted photographs of herself wearing an abstract-print shirtdress, draped gray separates and dramatic outerwear — a personal showcase of the collection’s contrasting shapes and textures.
“A few of my favorites from our Fall 2026 collection. So pleased with the response so far… thank you for all the love! 🖤” Natori wrote on Facebook.
In one photograph, she wears a dark-and-white, button-front shirtdress with long sleeves, a full midi-length skirt and a wide sash tied at the waist. Pointed-toe black heels and dangling earrings complete the look.
Other photographs feature an asymmetrically draped gray top with matching trousers, a simple gray cap-sleeve dress and a dark zip-front jacket with voluminous sleeves. A shaggy gray wrap and a short jacket with raised, curling details introduce more pronounced texture.
The looks reflect the brand’s fall 2026 theme, “Glamour beyond a season.” Natori’s website describes the collection as emphasizing luxurious fabrics, artful prints and refined craftsmanship, with clothing designed to move through different parts of the day.
Filipino roots, global business
The post follows Natori’s appearance at TOFA’s inaugural masterclass, held last month at the Triad Theater in Manhattan, where she spoke with entrepreneur and philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis about her upbringing, career and the Philippine craftsmanship behind her business.
“I got the business side from my father, and I got the art side from my mother,” Natori said during the interview with Lewis.
She also credited her maternal grandmother, a pharmacist and entrepreneur whose businesses included theaters, plantations and ice plants, with helping shape her ambitions. Growing up around those examples, Natori said, she always knew she wanted to be in business.
Her path to fashion, however, was not planned.
Natori told Lewis she spent nine years on Wall Street and enjoyed investment banking before becoming restless and looking for a new challenge. She and her husband, Ken, considered businesses ranging from a car wash to a McDonald’s franchise. She also experimented with importing baskets and furniture before an embroidered blouse offered a different possibility.
A former high school classmate sent her a suitcase of samples. A Bloomingdale’s buyer suggested turning an embroidered blouse into a nightshirt — the idea that helped launch Natori in 1977.
“I had never had any fantasies about being a designer, and I don’t really think about myself as a designer. I’m a businesswoman,” Natori told Lewis.
She described herself as creative and “an artist at heart,” while emphasizing that Philippine craftsmanship had been essential to the company’s longevity.
“Honestly, without the craftsmanship and the work that has been going on for almost 49 years in our factory in the Philippines, we wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” she said.
The business grew from intimate apparel into a broader lifestyle brand, including ready-to-wear, fragrance and home products. During the conversation, Natori said the company would mark its 50th anniversary next year.
Her latest photographs offer a more personal view of that business: the founder wearing the clothes herself, choosing her favorites and showing how she brings them together.
