‘I’m ready sprinkle a little bit of sparkle’: Nadine Merabi On Her AW24 Collection & London Flagship

The Nadine Merabi flagship store shines out like a beacon on South Molton Street. With the promise of pretty, glittery dresses peeking through its windows, it’s more than a little tempting to wander over and through the door. And inside, the joyful selection of elegant partywear continues. Black velvet dresses, sequined skirts, satin suits – if you can think of it, Nadine Merabi has it. ‘We’re building excitement in the lead up to party season,’ the designer tells us. ‘[But we also] needed people to come and be able to feel the product, touch the product, try the product on. Really get to know the brand.’ Getting ready to launch her AW24 collection, launch a London flagship and enter the world of wholesale, Nadine Merabi has a lot on her plate – but she’s excited to see it all bloom into action. We catch up with the designer amidst the London Fashion Week chaos, as she enters party mode in her brand new store.

Nadine Merabi Tells Us What We Can Expect For AW24

Hi Nadine, how’s life going right now?

I feel like the most relaxed I’ve been before a Fashion Week and before a collection drop. Not from complacency, it’s just so fun. And not taking myself too seriously.

I’ve had fun with it, with designing the AW24 collection. I’ve gone a bit out there with some designs, but I’m very commercial with others. And I do feel like I’ve tried to capture enough styles to suit most body shapes. So, yeah, I’m super excited.

Most designers seem to get a little tired by the time LFW rolls around – but you seem to be the exception!

Are you kidding? I mean, this is my season. What better time to go out wearing a sparkly dress, so that you can feel amazing about yourself?

Tell us about your upcoming AW24 collection.

So the collection is being spread across a few drops this season, every couple of weeks. We’re building excitement in the lead up to party season. We want to keep the fun without overloading people with too much, too many choices.

We’ve got some black velvet styles. They just feel rich, classy and, you know, tailored. We’ve also got a lot of silvers. Usually, we lean more into gold, but this year our metallics are mainly silver. Red is key in this collection as well. Red, black and silver, really. I mean, they are our normal Christmas colours, but I’ve gone quite heavy on red this season.

Red is definitely a popular colour this season.

Red was huge maybe four or five years ago. And then I think pink took over, and we went heavy on pink. There was the Versace pink platforms, Valentino did a whole collection in pink. We even had a pair of bright pink pyjamas. Pink really had a moment. But now I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve actually missed red.’ I feel like I’ve missed her. So, yeah, she’s back in my wardrobe.

 

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And how would you describe the Nadine Merabi woman this season?

Our whole purpose is to celebrate and empower women. I really, really want to instil that confidence. Some people say that, when they’re in Merabi, they feel a million dollars. And for me, that is just such a an amazing feeling. That you know you can make someone’s night – you can make someone’s moments, memories, occasions. The goal is for the Nadine Merabi woman to feel her very best self. Her most confident self.

You’re also opening up a new flagship store in London – congratulations!

Thank you! I absolutely adore the new flagship. We’ve tested things out with pop-ups, but this is where we’ve been able to go all out. To do up the inside how we want it to look, and get the aesthetic just right. This is such a cool location too, just a few steps away from Bond Street. I’m still a bit like, ‘Is this real?’ It feels weird seeing your name on the front of a shop. But it’s just a super proud moment. We needed a home, we needed a base. We needed people to come and be able to feel the product, touch the product, try the product on. Really get to know the brand and just feel the love that’s put into each design. I’m really, really excited about it, and I just think it’s so nice for people to to come in and experience it in person.

We hear you’re having a little LFW celebration, in honour of the new store and collection?

We’re getting a lot of like minded women in a room together, who are all excited to see the collection. I can’t wait to see what everyone’s wearing as well. Everyone’s got an excuse to get dressed up. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone feeling great. There’s a real empowerment theme.

And one of your guests will be Olympic medallist Johnson-Thompson?

Yes, she’s our main speaker. You know, it’s very easy just to say, ‘Oh, put a dress on and you’ll feel confident.’ But it doesn’t always work like that, so we’re spotlighting the stories of inspirational women, like Kat, and talking through the highs, lows, struggles and the moments where they haven’t felt so confident. We’re sharing in how we can overcome those moments too.

How did the two of you link up?

During the time we were planning this event, I was obsessed with the Olympics. And I was like, ‘Do you know who I really admire right now? Out female Olympians.’ I just think what they’ve achieved has been so amazing. For these Games especially I feel like we got to see more of them, through all the B-roll footage about their lives. We got to know a bit about their lifestyle and their livelihood and what their struggles have been and what they’ve tried to overcome. I remember when Keely Hodgkinson was about to compete – I was in tears before she even ran. I was just like, ‘God, the determination of these women is just incredible.’

I think I felt a little more connected to them because I used to play hockey professionally. People don’t realise how much time, dedication and training it takes. And not everyone goes and wins a medal. Not everyone makes it. You take that chance, that you don’t know if you’re going to actually win a medal, but you still go for it. So I’ve just got so much admiration for for them.

That’s why we reached out to Kat. She’s such a superstar, and someone we’ve come to know over the years she’s been in the Olympics. I’m super excited to meet her.

 

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Super exciting! And, aside from your own celebrations, what do you love about London Fashion Week?

There’s such a buzz around Fashion Week. It’s just brilliant. And this is our city. I love doing New York Fashion Week, but London feels like coming home. I really enjoy having a presence here – you know, making our mark here. And I’m ready sprinkle a little bit of sparkle.

Anything else exciting in the pipeline? (That you can tell us about!)

There’s a lot coming up. We’re looking at growing our US audience; starting to ship with a branded warehouse out there, which we’ll eventually replicate for Europe. So, yeah, I think it’s just looking at growth. We’re also looking at wholesale. We’ve started working with a few big retailers in the US, like Nordstrom and Revolve. We’ve also got a big one coming up in the UK, which we will be stocking in this month. Not sure if I’m allowed to say yet, but there aren’t many to guess from!

How do you live a life in balance?

I think just setting boundaries and time for yourself and the people you love. I used to be just work, work, work, work – and I loved it. I absolutely loved it, but it was super selfish. I had a family to be there for. Having kids completely balanced things out. I’ve got two young girls, a four-year-old and a two-year-old. Everyone from the team can contact me whenever – but I say to them, ‘I’m really sorry, I’m not answering my phone between six and half six because I’m doing bath time and bedtime.’ And that’s also my time. I want to make sure that I’m really present for the kids, not just around for the kids.

And recently, I’ve just found a sport to get into. I always do a lot of running, to take myself away to free up some headspace. But I’ve really got into padel, so I’m actually finding a balance there. I feel like I’ve missed the competitive element of things, being able to play a sport and take it a bit seriously. It’s still very social, but it’s quite nice to have that competitive edge back in my life.

Images courtesy of Nadine Merabi