From Wall Street to the Boudoir
Josie Cruz Natori was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch — one of the highest-ranking women on Wall Street — when she decided to throw it all away and start making lingerie. It was 1977. She was 30 years old. Her colleagues thought she had lost her mind.
She had, in fact, found her calling.
The Philippines Connection
Born in 1947 in Manila, Philippines, Natori was a child prodigy. She performed as a concert pianist with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra at age nine. She graduated from Manhattanville College in New York and went directly into investment banking, rising rapidly through the ranks at Merrill Lynch.
But she was searching for something. She wanted to build her own business — something that connected her Filipino heritage with the American luxury market.
The Nightshirt That Started Everything
The origin story is now legendary. Natori was looking for a business idea and asked her grandmother in the Philippines to send a sample of a traditional Filipino hand-embroidered blouse. She took it to a buyer at Bloomingdale's, hoping to sell it as a top.
The buyer looked at it and said: "This is too beautiful to be a top. It's a nightshirt."
The buyer placed an order for several hundred pieces. The Natori Company was born.
Building the Brand
What Natori built over the next four decades was unique in the lingerie industry:
- Filipino craftsmanship — hand-embroidery, beading, and textile techniques from the Philippines applied to luxury intimates
- East meets West — Japanese-inspired silhouettes, Filipino materials, Western business acumen
- Full luxury positioning — Natori competed not with Victoria's Secret but with La Perla and European luxury houses
- Vertical integration — she maintained manufacturing in the Philippines, providing employment while ensuring quality control
- The brand expanded from sleepwear to lingerie, loungewear, ready-to-wear, and home furnishings
The Dual Identity
Natori brought something to the lingerie industry that no one else could: a cross-cultural aesthetic. Her designs blended:
- Filipino embroidery traditions
- Japanese minimalism and proportion
- Western luxury marketing
- The discipline of a Wall Street trader
The result was lingerie that didn't look like anything else on the market — pieces that were recognizably Natori without being easily categorized.
The Philanthropy
Natori used her success to support Filipino artisans and communities:
- Maintained production facilities in the Philippines throughout her career
- Provided employment and training for Filipino craftspeople
- Advocated for Filipino-American representation in business and fashion
- Served on numerous boards supporting Asian American entrepreneurship
The Numbers
- The Natori Company generates approximately $150 million in annual revenue
- Available in major department stores and luxury retailers worldwide
- Josie Natori was named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the World
- Received the Philippine Presidential Award for contributions to global business
Why She Matters
Natori proved that the lingerie industry was big enough for more than French lace and Italian silk. She brought Filipino craft traditions to the global luxury market and proved that a Wall Street executive could become a lingerie designer — and that a lingerie designer could be taken as seriously as any investment banker.
"I didn't leave Wall Street to take a step down. I left to take a different kind of step up." — Josie Natori