The Power of Forward Thinking
As many fashion brands have adapted to the recent shift in dynamics throughout the world, designer Misha Nonoo was living a new normal before anyone else
The world has seen 2020’s dramatic shift cause industries across the board to adapt in drastic ways, and the fashion industry is one such industry which has undergone a reset of mighty proportions. Luxury brands such as Saint Laurent, Burberry and Marc Jacobs all announced they would be forgoing Fashion Month, but this is a move Bahraini-British fashion designer Misha Nonoo made with her eponymous brand four years earlier, choosing to solely showcase her collections on social media. It was a brave and forward-thinking decision that paid off as Nonoo realised it was the “most efficient way to give customers access to a showcase”, she tells Emirates Woman. While many brands are re-evaluating their strategies at present, the fashion designer encourages everyone to embrace the shift in dynamics. “My advice would be to embrace the change, and use it as a stepping stone to re-examine other aspects of your company that might be outdated or disconnected from your customers,” she says.
Born in Bahrain, raised in London, educated in Paris and now living in New York, it’s safe to say Nonoo has experienced a wealth of different cultures, launching her namesake label in 2011. “My multicultural upbringing exposed me to many definitions of fashion, prompting me to explore why women all over the world chose to dress the way they did,” she explains. “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many impressive people along the way, and I felt inspired to create a modern, multifaceted, capsule wardrobe for them.”
The eponymous brand by Nonoo explores the power of basics, creating the perfect capsule wardrobe with an array of items, which are all interchangeable and fit together. In particular, the designer has become wellknown for her iconic ‘Husband Shirt’, which is the favourite piece in her collection. “It is a universally flattering piece with elongated cuffs and a classic stitched tuxedo pleat and the signature MN logo embroidered on the back of the neck,” she explains. “What I love about the Husband Shirt is that it can be worn to board meetings with a pencil skirt, styled with jeans on your day off or accessorised for a date night. It is a versatile piece that every woman needs in their wardrobe.”
In-keeping with this, Nonoo was recruited by her close friend Meghan Markle (now, Duchess of Sussex) as part of her patronage with Smart Works – a charity which provides a two-hour dressing and coaching service to women in the UK who are unemployed with upcoming job interviews. “The collaboration was very exciting because our values as a brand perfectly align with Smart Works’ and the Duchess of Sussex’s amazing mission of helping women succeed in the workforce,” Nonoo tells Emirates Woman. “We’ve always strived to provide women with versatile, timeless clothing that helps give them confidence in their professional life.” The design process for the collection with Meghan was “super collaborative”, Nonoo reveals and was also a huge success. “Through the 1-for-1 model, we were able to donate 1,500 shirts to Smart Works, and help that many more women realise their potential,” the designer adds.
The collaboration with the Duchess of Sussex is something she counts in her topthree highlights throughout her decade-long career with her brand. It hasn’t all been plain sailing, however, a particularly notable hurdle Nonoo notes was switching from the original wholesale model for her brand after realising it wasn’t “all it’s cracked up to be”. While the launch of her brand came after a chance encounter with a buyer from boutique department store Intermix, located in New York City, who complimented the budding designer on her jacket, down the line the wholesale model didn’t fit her aspirations. During her transition from wholesale to direct-to-customer, it was a challenge to raise capital. “When we shut down the wholesale accounts, income dried up,” she admits. “We had a six-month period where I basically went quiet, which was so tough from a business standpoint but worth it in the end.”
The switch enabled Nonoo to fulfil her aspirations of becoming a sustainable brand. “I began to reimagine how a modern fashion label could work and set my sights on a model where I could create customised garments on-demand whilst avoiding the costly fashion week shows and going direct to consumer,” she says. “I am now enormously proud to work with a female-owned factory in Hong Kong, where each piece is made when the customer places an order, eliminating unnecessary waste. I believe this is the future of fashion.” It’s this type of change, that Nonoo believes embodies what power means. “To me, power means impact and impact equates to change and being to help others creates change,” she says.
Similarly, the recent pandemic has meant Nonoo and her team have gone through another shift, as many other brands have done. She reveals it’s taught her to look at the “bigger picture”. Instead, she is looking to the brand’s “five-year plan instead of perhaps the immediate future or next six months as that is much harder to predict”. The designer has also gotten used to the copious amounts of Zoom calls we have all been experiencing due to the workfrom-home model. It’s how she’s been able to manage two launches throughout lockdown. “We have just launched the Husband Shirt Builder on our website because we’ve expanded the style to various colours, materials, and stud metals, and want every customer to be able to create their perfect combination,” she explains. “We also collaborated with Allison Fry to create a tuxedo stud for the Husband Shirt in bright summery colours. Normally, with these types of collaborations we would have met several times, but for the first time ever, it has all been done over Zoom and email.” She’s managed to do all this whilst also having just welcomed her first child – a baby boy named Leo – with husband Mikey Hess, an oil heir and businessman. While she admits it was an interesting time to give birth, she also counts her blessings for being able to spend time together as a family of three.
Nonoo and her husband currently reside in New York City, but born in Bahrain, the Middle East “has a very special place in my heart,” she says reflecting on her childhood. “I have vivid memories of the souks that had stalls stuffed with reams of bright textiles: vivid reds, golds, saffron and metallic threads woven through fabrics and looking on in awe as women picked their materials to take them to dressmakers for one-off pieces and jalabiyas.” It’s a place, as well as the rest of the GCC which Nonoo believes “definitely shaped my personality for the better from my earliest years”.
She still takes fashion inspiration from women in the region, particularly in the accessories department. “Women in the GCC really know how to accessorise,” she says. “Whether that be a statement pair of earrings or a gorgeous oversized handbag – they always look the part.”
And it’s from these women, whether they’re from the GCC or anywhere else across the globe, that she gets her inspiration from. “My main source of motivation and creativity comes from the women I meet who are leaders in their field, and have a strong mission they consistently embody,” she says. “The modern woman wears many hats and she has so much to juggle in a day. We want to provide these women with an elegant and versatile wardrobe equipped for high-pressure business meetings as well as an active weekend with their family.” We couldn’t agree more.