Laureate Nensi Dojaka on her future in the fashion industry

Moving to London at age 17, Dojaka obtained a BA from London College of Fashion, where she studied lingerie design, then progressed to the Central Saint Martins MA course, where her collection of graduates culminated in a capsule collection with Ssense in 2019. A year later, Lulu Kennedy, founder of Fashion East, incubator of young design talents, takes it under her wing.

As brand awareness and Dojaka’s business grew, she found herself managing the expectations of wholesale partners and the press, who expected to see constant novelty in her product and merchandising. . “After the LVMH Prize, I felt a lot more pressure because people expected to see the sequel, and they still are,” she says. “The industry is waiting too much, too fast. Things take time.

It’s a trap that many young designers fall into at a time when they should be focusing on storytelling their brands, says Susanne Tide-Frater, retail and luxury goods specialist, who is also director of consulting at administration of Browns. “It’s tricky because retailers always want more. The temptation is great to create large ranges to express creativity and build the brand. In reality, a strong tight range has a lot more impact and costs less to produce. “

A fresh take on femininity

A turning point for Nensi Dojaka came when Bella Hadid wore one of her pieces to the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, ahead of her Spring / Summer 2021 presentation. Hadid also posted a photo of the outfit on Instagram, which racked up more than 20,930 likes. “It was excellent visibility and many buyers came to see me for the first time,” Dojaka explains.

Dojaka’s black asymmetrical mini dress was listed on global fashion shopping platform Lyst’s index of the ten hottest women’s products for the first quarter of 2021, placing her design alongside Gucci’s coveted styles, Bottega Veneta. and Hermès. The dress averaged over 7,000 searches per month for the rest of the year, Lyst says.

Emerging designers Isa Boulder, Charlotte Knowles, Rui Zhou, and Hyein Seo also come up with contouring styles that highlight the body in subversive and unconventional ways. Dojaka stands out for her “new take on femininity in the context of showing more of your body, but she’s balanced with tailoring and speaks to the way young women want to dress,” according to Sarah Mower, VogueChief Critic and BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent.