Noki House of Sustainability

You’re not a top-level fashion designer these days unless you’ve got some kind of freaky fashion schtick: fingerless gloves and starched collar; blue hair; nine-inch heels; a kilt. So Noki (known to his mum as Jonathan ‘JJ’ Hudson) is clearly destined for greatness – he is never photographed without his trademark surgical mask. The notoriously reclusive designer has been releasing his avant-garde collections of recycled vintage garments for 10 years now, but little is known about him other than that he’s in his early 30s and hails from Aberdeen. His work largely speaks for itself though – one-off, extravagant designs that he actively encourages people to copy and reinterpret using their own thrift-store finds. The former club-kid sees his work as an assault on the homogeneity of mass-produced, globalised fashion design, and says he is driven by “a need to see extreme modernist design to counterbalance the corporate retro overload.” His Spring/Summer 08 collection featured slashed vintage t-shirts, striped knee socks, clown wigs and spectacular skirts – and every model wore one an over-the-top mask. Noki might be able keep his personal life hidden, but he can’t hide his talent.
www.fashioneast.co.uk