After several seasons showing during Paris Fashion Week, founder and Creative Director Doni Nahmias took his namesake label home to Los Angeles for their Spring/Summer 2025 presentation. The collection, titled Physical Education, reimagines classic workwear and sportswear into a cohesive marriage of athleticism and fashion — an homage to Nahmias’ high school days and the resilient grit that got him to where he is now.

“I went back home and went through old high school photos and documents. My mom had a shoe box full of photos of myself, and documents from when I was sent to juvenile hall, and my house arrest documents,” Nahmias tells Wonderland. “I reflected on my troubled youth and teens and transformation, weaving together memories of adolescence with elements of sports and fashion. The collection blends gritty, grunge-inspired aesthetics with classic sportswear silhouettes, capturing the essence of that evolution and telling a story of overcoming adversity and embracing beauty through that journey.”

Presented at the Pan Pacific Park Gymnasium with a special performance by Machine Gun Kelly, it was full of personal details and exciting surprises — and we spoke to the designer all about them.

Hi Doni! How are you doing? Have you been able to rest or celebrate a bit after the show?
I’m much better and relaxed now that the show is over. I barely slept the weeks leading up to the show.. but it’s what we sign up for in this fashion space. We had a nice relaxing after party at a Nobel House my friend Max Built. I was able to get away for a few days as well this weekend and take some time to myself and get recharged. I was running on fumes. The positive feedback and support have been incredible, and it’s been nice to soak it all in.
 
It’s an exciting time now going back into the studio with empty blackboards, it’s time to start fresh and do it all over again. 
 
Congratulations on SS25! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the collection?
Thank you kindly. The Physical Education collection was a personal collection to me, drawing inspiration from my journey of growth and self-discovery. I reflected on my troubled youth and teens and transformation, weaving together memories of adolescence with elements of sports and fashion. The collection blends gritty, grunge-inspired aesthetics with classic sportswear silhouettes, capturing the essence of that evolution and telling a story of overcoming adversity and embracing beauty through that journey. You can see it in the details – a model walked the runway wearing a “house arrest” ankle monitor to portray that time period of my life. Another model wore a button-down tailored shirt with buttons that would resemble ecstasy pills from when I would go to class on drugs. It was a dark time but also a fun and beautiful story to tell. I feel like it portrayed my beauty in the struggle.
 
What was the research or development process like?
The research and development process was immersive and fun for me to tap into. I dove into my own past experiences, drawing from my time as a troubled skater teen and my love for sports. I went back home and went through old high school photos and documents. My mom had a shoe box full of photos of myself, and documents from when I was sent to juvenile hall, and my house arrest documents. I was able to reflect on this time and what I was wearing or drawn too. I experimented with various fabrics and techniques to achieve telling that story through elevated garments and fabrications.

How do you strike the balance between sportswear and workwear, between refined and casual elements?
The balance comes down to the silhouette and styling the looks, it’s a lot of trial and error with fits and fabrics. It’s delicate too though, taking something so casual such as sportswear or workwear and being able to refine it into something luxury that sits on a rack and can be worn dressed up and elevated. This comes down to use of fabrications and adjusting fits to be exactly how you want them to lay and fall and feel. There is a balance also between how pieces are worn together to get the balance just right. 
 
Have you always worked in this way, or when did you start to develop your signature visual identity?
My signature visual identity has definitely evolved over time. It’s taken a lot of time and patience and maturity as a designer to understand things, I’m still learning every day and have so much to learn and understand.  When I first started designing, I was heavily influenced by my surroundings and personal experiences. Moving to Los Angeles played a significant role in shaping my style, as it was here that I began to blend the gritty, grunge-inspired aesthetics from my youth with the sportswear elements I’ve always loved. Over the years, I honed in on what makes Nahmias unique—the fusion of elevated fits and fabrications and techniques with a refined yet casual aesthetic. I’ve always wanted Nahmias to be comfortable but effortlessly elevated.  This evolution has been a natural progression, and it will continue to evolve. Every collection I feel like I get a better understanding of myself and Nahmias as a brand and where it needs to go.
 
Can you explain a bit about some of the techniques you used to accomplish certain effects—such as oil spills on denim or the incorporation of pressed flowers?
Achieving unique effects like oil spills on denim and incorporating pressed flowers required a lot of experimentation and trial and errors. For the oil spills, we used special foil treatments on Italian denim to create realistic and artistic patterns reminiscent of oil on ocean water and spills from California’s oil rigs. Sitting out on the water surfing that rainbow glare over the water was something I’ve always wanted to achieve, the wash house and my development team did a great job to get that dialled in. The stained and repaired jeans would resemble long days skating and falling and being messy and just being a young and free teenager. It’s fun coming up with stains and holes and treatments that could resemble these times. 
 
Incorporating pressed flowers was a delicate process, involving preserving the flowers and embedding them into the fabric to maintain their natural beauty and ensure durability. I was wondering how I could make something tough and grungy but still beautiful. So putting pressed flowers into a baggy denim 5 pocket or shorts felt like a cool juxtaposition okay with. 

Why did you decide to return to LA to show the collection? What did that mean for you personally and for the brand?
Returning to LA to show the collection felt like a homecoming for me and for Nahmias. After several seasons in Paris, and the Olympics coming up in Paris, the traffic and prices were insane. As a young brand it felt like the right excuse and smart decision to do something special with this collection in my hometown, and I wanted to bring SS25 back to where it all began. It was a personal and meaningful experience, reconnecting with my roots and sharing our journey with friends and family to be there where they wouldn’t normally be able to fly to Paris for a show.
 
How did the performance by MGK come about, and how did that add to the show?
Machine Gun Kelly’s performance was a highlight of the show and such a cool experience for me. We’ve had a long-standing relationship since he was supporting Nahmias at its earliest stages. When I told him about the theme of the show and the idea of recreating a grungy high school vibe, he was immediately on board. His energy and authenticity perfectly matched the collection’s aesthetic, and his performance added an authentic and energetic touch to the show. It was like bringing the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video to life on the runway, and it couldn’t have been more fitting. He’s such a nice dude and I love him for being a part of this. 

See the runway images, courtesy of Indigital.TV…