That Monica Paolini and Sean Monahan’s Sea continues to expand, with a just-opened store in Beijing, another soon to follow in Seoul, plus a new location in New York, is evidence of the desirability of their designs and an ever more nuanced understanding of their international customer. For the past few years the team has been focused on a romantic/utilitarian dichotomy that serves their different markets. Paolini reported that Asian customers are partial to the latter while the response to lingerie looks, which the designer has been exploring since pre-fall 2026, is strong Stateside. This boudoir fascination sits alongside the folkloric fare the brand is known for; lace is common to both. The trick will be keeping the boudoir/outdoor formula from becoming formulaic.
One way Paolini is accomplishing that is by working closely with teams in India who provide astonishing craftsmanship at a price that works for her brand. A long cutwork dress in white was made using lasers; the vintage-style floral embroidery on bed jackets with marabou trim is wonderfully shaded and dense. These are pieces to fall in love with and which, for spring, were connected by the brand ethos rather than “a specific theme,” Paolini said. “It’s more just about undone beauty and being romantic, but not overly romantic. And nostalgic, but not too vintage; but also a little bit rebellious, with the sportswear and the toughness added to all of the pretty.”
If slip dresses and caped blouses referenced ’30s lingerie, the floral prints, according to Paolini, were ’70s by way of The Virgin Suicides. The designer said that the palette, which ranged from soft (sea foam green, ivory, lilac) to a warm curry yellow and was ballasted by evergreen navy and black, was meant to evoke “faded gardens or the end of summer.” There was nothing melancholy about the collection however, but there was a coziness to the bed jackets, and a chunky sweater would be just the thing for sunset when it gets cold at the beach. A mesh and cargo fishing skirt was costume-y, but pants of a similar ilk were effective, if familiar. A fringed suede capelet felt hippie in a collection that was less bohemian than usual: more alluring was the beaded fringe that spun from tops, including one that resembled a floral beaded vintage pouch that had been flattened and enlarged into a festive and frenetic accessory/garment, and was a keeper at that.
