Nensi Dojaka’s spring 2023 collection was full of the sophisticated sheer dresses we know her for, but it also served as the designer’s first introduction to denim. Dojaka, who just last year won the LVMH Prize, is quickly breaking out as one of the most-talked-about brands to know at London Fashion Week. Emily Ratajkowski closed the show in a romantically gauzy cranberry dress that emanated the very idea of all things delicate.
The Albanian-born Dojaka graduated from London’s Central Saint Martins and launched her namesake label in 2017. Studying lingerie, she’s taken inspiration from underpinnings to create her uniquely powerful, sheer mini dresses with asymmetrical sleeves. Still, Dojaka is all about the use of contrasting fabrics–silk and jersey, for instance, which create a heart-fluttering juxtaposition on the runway and in real life (celebs including Bella Hadid and Zendaya are fans). “I always contrast my pieces with something a bit more casual, so it doesn’t look either too glamorous or too casual,” the designer tells us by phone.
What especially sets her apart is that she does indeed design garments with the technical side of lingerie in mind –and that goes for ready-to-wear as well as négligées. Few designers are trained and skilled in both. “People know it, but what they never really see in one place is that we’re doing a bit of everything, starting from lingerie going all the way to bigger evening wear dresses,” she says. Here, a few facts about the rising designer that you need to know.
She’s Inspired by Organic Shapes and Flowers
“I really like the organic shapes,” Says Dojaka, who often looks to flowers as a source of inspiration for her gossamer-thin lingerie pieces. “I’m looking a lot at flowers, whether they are in art pieces or out in the world. I like these organic shapes versus the more geometric ones.” This season, she integrated those shapes into fabric exploration too: “I love stuff like embroidery, which I started a bit this season,” she says. “I hope to do it more.”
Fit is Everything
Dojaka emphasizes that fit is key to every piece she puts down the runway or sells to retailers, and she has her own technique she’s been using since the beginning. “Everything that I do, especially the more fitted stuff, I drape them on the mannequin. Seeing how they perform there, or how the models feel and how women feel wearing them after trying them on–the feedback from them is very important. Obviously, in terms of sizing as well, the reason why I’ve been so careful and trying to do fit very well is because I think it’s important for everyone to feel comfortable and supported in the clothing.” Dojaka did her undergraduate course in lingerie for three years, and takes much of her inspiration for fit detail from it. “It comes naturally to me,” she says.
The Sheer Mini Dress is the Most Iconic Silhouette Behind the Brand
“The mini dress with the asymmetric straps is the most recognizable piece of the brand,” she says. Of course, it was shown again for spring 2023 in different ways. “I did it for the first time for summer 2021, and it was just me playing on the mannequin, to be honest, but it wasn’t really referencing something. I didn’t realize it was gonna be like such a thing. The internet did its own thing.”
It’s About a Celebration of Bodycon
You may have noticed Dojaka always has a strong line-up for her casting. She credits that to her casting director, but also, “the brand is all about women and female bodies,” she says. “We’re very careful in terms of representing all kinds of women.” But if you’re wondering why the designer’s pieces are still only currently stocked up to a size UK 14 (equivalent to US 10) we are too. But luckily, there’s good news: “Of course, there was a bit more size diversity this season, but I’m just hoping to do more and more of that every season. Certain styles we’re trying to push for the spring 2023 season to go a bit up to an extended size range. I just want to do it right. And I just want everyone to feel and look good. The brand is about a powerful woman that dictates what her style is and what her opinions are, rather than being a follower.”
Black is the Core Color
“The color that I gravitate most is definitely black,” she says. “But having done a lot of exclusive projects for different retailers or just custom pieces for different people, I’m really enjoying playing with color a bit more.” That’s part of the reason why we saw more of a range of hues in the spring 2023 collection, but black will always be at the center of Dojaka’s world. ”I really wanted it to be very lighthearted, I guess just more fun in general. I think that’s what everyone needs now.”
She’s Getting Into Footwear
Dojaka is launching a shoe capsule in the next week, for the first time. “It’s basically a reflection of the spring 2023 collection,” she says. “All the shoes will be like a mirroring of what was happening in the ready-to-wear collection. There are some shoes with the flower detail, and it’s basically taking elements from that.”
For all the latest fasion News Click Here
