Founded in 2015 by Berlin-based designers Nan Li and Emilia Pfohl, Namilia is the brand using fashion as a means to drive political and societal change. Inspired by the spirit of youth cultures across time, they seek to question longstanding norms surrounding gender and femininity — and bring in a new age of revolution.
Their newest collection, unveiled for SS24, is titled In Loving Memory of My Sugar Daddy. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the rise of the post-feminist Namilia hero,” the brand states in an introduction to the collection, which discusses the trope of the gold digger.
Using graphic phrases and motifs, they counter traditional narratives that draw on the Bible’s binary interpretation of women’s sexuality — that you can simply be a virgin or a whore, no in between. Challenging the negative perceptions surrounding the titles of “sugar baby”, “gold digger”, “trophy wife”, they celebrate the act of using one’s body in your own right — to get what you want.
While the collection is a fun, playful, and graphic depiction of power, the purpose is something serious and important. It is a call for the decriminalisation of sex work.
Take a look for yourself…
