The Simple Life: Inside Nat Morcos’ Pared Down, Artistic Abode

While fashion may have once been her biggest passion, the entrepreneur is now on a mission for a lighter, more laid-back life. And it all started with a slimmed-down wardrobe of stylish staples

When Nat Morcos, formerly known as Natalia Shustova, was faced with a traumatic event in her life, it didn’t just touch her and her family at an emotional level – it changed the way she viewed her entire being. A woman who once had an entire floor for her wardrobe (complete with 400 pairs of shoes) in her three-storey penthouse – which she jokingly calls a walk-in house for her closet – Nat now resides in a modest three-bed casa with her husband Michael, teenage son Felix and Pomeranian Oreo, with just a three-section closet and one dresser to house her clothes.

“The quiet period we had helped me personally to stop, listen to myself and realise what I want in life,” the artist, creative entrepreneur and founder of multi-disciplinary luxury brand Goshá tells Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. “For me, downsizing my wardrobe was the first step in curating a capsule wardrobe suitable for my daily life. It is a perfect way to shop less and not focus so much on ‘It’ and trending-now pieces.”

It was during her house move that Nat had an epiphany. Forced to live out of suitcases in a hotel for a few weeks, the family put the rest of their clothes in storage and, as it turns out, never went back to pick them up. “The idea of where I would store my 400 pairs of shoes, and in general just having a really big wardrobe, was giving me anxiety and overriding the love and connection I had with our new home,” she tells us. “The whole idea that ‘I don’t have enough space for my stuff’ was really difficult to process.” She came to realise that all the items she kept with her were the items she really loved, and the ones that truly fit the way she saw herself aesthetically. “I feel much lighter now, knowing every piece I own. I have a capsule wardrobe with timeless pieces that will hold their value and look through the years to come.”

As a newly converted advocate of this lighter way of living, Nat’s wardrobe is now streamlined and co-ordinated for maximum versatility and supreme wearability, so one look inside and you’ll find just denim, leather, velvet, black YSL silk, Chanel sequins, summer linen, Etro staples, pieces from Prada’s Re-Nylon collection and edgy separates from Miu Miu.

“My accessories comprise my Chanel 22 bag collection and a big Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama keep-all which I use as my gym and office bag,” she adds. “Then there’s a curated collection of Celine, Bulgari and Bottega Veneta evening bags, a selection of fine jewellery plus YSL and Gentle Monster sunglasses. That’s it. I’m now really passionate about the fashion pieces I own and I recycle them on a daily basis. One-time-wear pieces are no longer welcome in my life.”

While Nat sold, donated or shared the rest of her clothes in order to give them a chance to be loved and treasured again, the majority of her impressive shoe collection is stored away in protective boxes, perhaps ready for the next generation.

“They are a fashion archive,” she tells us. As for her family, they were well ahead of her, she adds, with her girls boasting a very small wardrobe and her husband detoxing his closet every six months. “Our son is also very conscious of his wardrobe choices, and has a very ‘quiet luxury’ mindset. He builds his wardrobe with the best quality and timeless items, which is fascinating to watch.”

Not just a new-look Nat, the creative has now channelled her efforts into entrepreneurship, and has set up a few successful businesses as well as launching luxury lifestyle brand Goshá in 2020 with her husband Michael. “My passion for fashion is now mainly interpreted through the floral design work we offer to luxury fashion and lifestyle brands, as well as the set design and events we produce at Goshá Buro,” she adds.

Blending creative ideas with meticulous execution, the pair now employ more than 50 people across their portfolio, are busy creating a new private event space Skooni, are opening Goshá Arts in Abu Dhabi and are rolling out Goshá Flowers locations in Europe and across the Gulf. It’s safe to say that they have plenty to keep them busy.

So, now happy in her fourth career change, would Nat say it is her last? “I have a new name, a new lifestyle, a new routine, a job I love, my sanctuary house, my family and a very curated group of friends,” she happily concludes. “This is for now, but I am forever going through shifts and transitions, so who knows when my next phase will start and where it will take me?” We can’t wait to find out.

Photography: Efraim Evidor Styling: Imogene Legrand. Flowers: Goshá Flowers. Home Styling: Goshá Buro and Skooni. Stylist’s Assistant: Kawthar El Naggar

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s October 2023 issue.