The Natori Company is a women's fashion designer and manufacturer based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The company sells lingerie,

nightwear Nightwear – also called sleepwear, or nightclothes – is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with warmer styles being worn in colder conditions and vice versa. Some styles ...

loungewear Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasis ...

, ready-to-wear, underwear and other high-end women's fashion to upscale department stores in the US, and to at least 15 countries internationally. In addition to women's clothing, the company is also in the home furnishings industry, and has signed a licensing deal to sell Natori

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

. Natori started a limited men's line in 2006.

History

The company was founded by

Josie Natori Josie Natori (born Josefina Almeda Cruz, May 9, 1947) is a Filipino-American fashion designer and the CEO and founder of The Natori Company. Natori served as a commissioner on the White House Conference on Small Business. In March 2007 she was a ...

, a native

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

. After starting her career on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

, where she rose the ranks to become the first female Vice President in

Investment Banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...

, she decided to pursue a childhood dream of being an entrepreneur. After considering a number of other entrepreneurial ventures from opening a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

franchise, to reproducing antique furniture, she settled on fashion after a buyer at

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...

suggested she lengthen some

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

blouses sent to her from her native

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The altered garments were sold as nightshirts. The company celebrated its 30th anniversary in November, 2007, with a dinner that was attended by CEO's and top executives of the company's main vendors, including Saks,

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

, Neiman Marcus, and

. Natori has expanded its product offerings, and in May 2008, signed a global fragrance licensing deal with Parlux Fragrances. The perfume debuted in the US in September, 2009, with international distribution to follow. The company also launched Natorious, a new ready-to-wear line in the fall of 2008, expanding the company's apparel footprint beyond its traditional lingerie, loungewear, sleepwear, and underwear. The collection was rebranded as Josie Natori in the fall of 2010.

References

External links

Natori Official WebsiteJosie Natori blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natori Company, The Clothing companies based in New York City Privately held companies based in New York City 1977 establishments in New York City Clothing companies established in 1977