A Purrring Convo with Namilia designers about their Latest Iconic Collab with Playboy
Photographer: Szymon Stępniak
Namilia - Founded by Nan Li and Emilia Pfohl
In a world where the rules of "professional" dressing are riddled with contradictions, Namilia’s Autumn/Winter 2025 collection challenges the double standards women face in the workplace. While men are handed a uniform for success, women navigate a labyrinth of expectations—expected to care about their appearance yet criticized for caring too much. In collaboration with Playboy, Namilia reimagines office wear through a lens of rebellious femininity, blending the rigidity of male- coded attire with Playboy’s boundary-pushing sensuality. Celebrating self- expression and agency, the collection disrupts cultural norms around beauty and professionalism.
Merde recently stopped by the studio for an exclusive visit, sitting down with the founders of Namilia to explore and discuss the inspiration behind their iconic Autumn/Winter 2025 collection.
MERDE: What sparked the iconic partnership with Playboy, and what vision did you have for the capsule collection?
We’ve always wanted to do a collaboration with Playboy, as its approach to female empowerment and embracing sexual freedom aligns with what we’re doing at Namilia. For this capsule collection, we decided to go full Y2K femme fantasy and really focus on what makes the Playboy brand so iconic.
How did Playboy’s legacy and its modern relevance shape the design journey and core message of your collection? Can you share insights into the creative process of merging Playboy’s playful essence with the structured look of office wear?
We focused on the impact that the Playboy brand has in pop culture and the associated styles that went along with different eras, such as embellished handbags, tiny bikinis, and velour tracksuits. The people wearing these hyper-feminine styles are taken less seriously and often degraded in the public eye, so it felt like the perfect merging to combine these pieces with office wear.
How does this collection challenge traditional notions of professional dressing for women, and what specific societal expectations or double standards does it seek to dismantle?
Our capsule collection with Playboy, titled “The Key to Success: Never Play the Part”, interrogates what it means to dress professionally and why women have sucha more complicated rulebook to follow than men. In the workplace, women must adhere to codes of femininity that are seen as pleasant and attractive while not drawing too much attention to themselves. In other words, women must care deeply about their appearance but are chastised for caring too much.
How do you hope this collection will inspire broader changes in the way society views gender norms and professional attire for women in the future?
We hope that women’s bodies stop being so sensational. Like, why is that when a woman shows skin or celebrates her body, she is hypersexualized? Why is a photo where a woman’s nipple is visible so scandalous that Instagram bans her account?
How do you hope people will feel when they wear pieces from this collection?
We always want people wearing Namilia to feel confident and powerful.
If you could describe this collection in three words, what would they be, and why?
Iconic, hot, purrrr. No further explanation needed!
If you could see one influential figure, past or present, wearing this collection, who would it be and why?
Paris Hilton, of course. We’re always designing our clothes with Paris Hilton in mind.
What was the standout moment for you in collaborating with Playboy on this collection?
Producing the lookbook shoot and seeing all these looks come to life on the models, and seeing the gorgeous imagery in real time. We knew we had created something really beautiful.
What feedback or reactions from wearers or the fashion community have resonated with you the most so far?
Customer feedback really gives us purpose and motivation to keep on going. We get so many comments and emails that our clothing makes them feel like superheroes ready to conquer the world. As Julia Fox said, “You can never go wrong with Namilia“
