Sisi Li had emergency heart surgery and spent three weeks in the ICU since the last time she produced a collection. After a year-and-a-half pause, she’s restarted her label Nells Nelson with the same commitment to expertly made, woman-friendly tailoring that she founded it with before the pandemic. Her pantsuits are often made from knits, not wovens, for ease, and she adds plackets to the sleeves for added comfort. She wants her jackets to wear like a cardigan; and she even cuts some shirt silhouettes in downy fine gauge cashmere—it’s hard to go back to cotton poplin after that.
Quiet luxury is no fad for Li. She’s trend agnostic, though her life-or-death experience has her rethinking some things. Devotees of her subtle work will notice the graceful shawl collars on her jackets and the updated, slightly oversized proportions of the shoulders, which she was careful to point out were achieved without shoulder pads. The button-down scarf-dickey hybrids are another new idea—playful, if not as practical as her blouses. The most enticing development, for both her customers and for Li herself, who thrives on the hands-on job of designing and patternmaking, is a new bespoke suit making service. I’ll do appointments here in my apartment and for clients who don’t live in New York, I’ll go to them,” she said with a gleam in her eye, clearly thrilled to be back in business.
