NENSI DOJAKA + SINDI DOJAKA, NICOLE DE MARCO AND MICHAL WISNIEWSKI
EVEN WITHOUT THEIR MATCHING monochrome wardrobes as a visual marker, it would be easy to spot Central Saint Martins-trained designer Nensi Dojaka and her loved ones on the ELLE set. The foursome – Dojaka, her architect-student sister, Sindi, and Nicole and Michal from her studio design team – move in a pack, muttering in hushed tones, in a way that often replaces actual conversation. It’s the kind of uniformity that happens when bonds are especially strong.
Dojaka, who moved to London from Tirana, Albania, aged 16, has become one of the capital’s most exciting designers. Bella Hadid and Beyoncé have worn her barely there pieces that demonstrate her contour training and centre the female body, while Emily Ratajkowski and Mariacarla Boscono have walked her shows. Paeans have come thick and fast for the now 30-year-old, who won the 2021 LVMH prize just a year after starting her eponymous label. At the heart of it all? A close-knit web of family and friends that blurs the lines between employee and confidante, relative and muse.
‘My mum and sister influenced me a lot as I explored what the brand would be,’ the softly spoken Dojaka says. ‘Sindi is my little muse, and she has about 70 per cent of the collection, which she wears all the time. She is 23 and, as I’m maturing, she brings that youthful juxtaposition to my point of view.’ A less-is-more approach came from her mother, she adds. ‘I’ve been influenced in a subliminal way because my mum has always been minimalist and chic.’
When it comes to Wisniewski and De Marco, Dojaka says they are not just the pillars of her team, but her best friends, too. ‘I can’t really imagine my brand or my life without them. The last year has been challenging, emotionally and mentally, and they really have been there, which has positively influenced my work. I would have been in another situation had they not been by my side.’