Machine Gun Kelly rocked the gym at Pan Pacific Park Sunday afternoon, giving a mini-concert for buddy Doni Nahmias’ spring 2025 runway show.
“He was the first celebrity to ever wear the brand,” Nahmias said. “He wore a random shearling jacket when nobody even knew I existed. Ever since we’ve always stayed in touch. I sent him a text saying I was doing my first L.A. show and wanted a live band because it was kind of grungy high school that was what I was connecting to, and he said let’s do it. It took no convincing.”
Nahmias grew up in the Summerland area south of Santa Barbara and interned with Mike Amiri before launching his own luxury men’s collection in 2018, including his if-you-know-you-know Summerland T-shirts that have become brisk sellers.
His first retail account was H.Lorenzo, and now Nahmias is also stocked at Ssense, Saks, Selfridges, Maxfield and more, alongside L.A.’s major menswear players Amiri, Fear of God and John Elliott.
His celebrity fan club has expanded to include Justin Bieber, who kickstarted Nahmias’ business when he wore his “Miracle” hat on James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke,” NBA ballers James Harden and P.J. Tucker, Miguel and Travis Barker, who was front run on Sunday.
Maxfield buyer Sarah Stewart, who gave the brand a pop-up in February, was also on hand to see the designer, who usually shows in Paris but decided to show at home in L.A. rather than pay Olympics-inflated prices.
Nahmias took guests back to school with his spring 2025 collection inspired by his transformation from troubled teen who was under house arrest and went to juvie, as he told it, to upstanding adult after he found design and sports.
The gym where Nahmias now practices basketball with a coach (he plays in a league against the likes of Bieber) had been transformed into Summerland High School. “It doesn’t exist, l made up this world and all the models are versions of myself through the years,” he explained.
The clothes similarly transformed from grungy-good mohair sweaters, crystal trimmed flannel shirts and distressed cargo jeans to sporty track shorts, jerseys and letterman jackets to something even more fashion — an elegant green velvet blazer and track shorts set, for example, and a black-and-white flocked floral jacket and pants suit meant to symbolize “the brand growing into something beautiful,” the designer said.
Since Nahmias discovered more women were buying his clothes, he added a couple of looks for them, including black heart-chain pinstripe cargo pants with boxer shorts sticking out, worn with a cropped red sports jersey, which looked great.
It was refreshing to see the unmistakably California references to skate and music culture that inevitably come up in menswear, at home and coming from such a sincere, heartfelt place. Everyone was rooting for Nahmias, even Kelly, who joined the crowd in applause, yelling, “Go Doni!”
