We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Johnny Noire. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Johnny below.

Alright, Johnny thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Starting a fashion brand was a bold move for a forty three year old, husband, father, and grandfather. It required a unique vision, determination, and a deep passion for creativity and design. I knew that if I was going to make this transition to the world of fashion design, I’d need to lean in hard or find a different path.

My journey to fashion design I would say began my junior year in high-school. Inspired by the grunge scene of the earlier 90’s and the goth scene of the 80’s and 90’s, I loved counter culture attire, retro modern aesthetic from movies like the Matrix with Keanu Reeves and Hackers with Johnny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, and dark high fashion from designers like Alexander McQueen.

I married young, to my best friend, and amazing wife Grace, shortly after high school. I figured out quickly that I might need to make a living at something other than art. Something with a more consistent income. Over the next decade, I worked in IT, had two amazing daughters, and enjoyed fashion from a far, with shows like Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model. Both of my daughters became enamored with fashion, and I was able to help keep them stylish through grade school.

In 2021, after Covid began, we were all forced to stay for safety, which meant we had a lot more time together as a family. Sometime during the middle of 2021 I suggested the idea that we began researching how to start a brand and clothing line. We brainstormed together and I came up with the idea of sticking with what we knew, Dark Fashion.

February of 2022 Grace and I traveled to the Magic Fashion Convention in Las Vegas, NV. There we met many other like minded people from brands like Strang Cvlt Shoes, YRU Shoes, Tripp NYC, Midnight Ballerina, and many other established brands. While at Magic we also took a deep dive in to the world of sourcing materials and manufacturing. We came back from Las Vegas Ready to go, with designs in hand, contacts and a supportive community.

Johnny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For folks who may not have read about me before, I’m Johnny Noire, father, friend, and fashion designer. I began designing clothing during Covid, with my wife Grace, and daughters Olivia and Heidi. I create inclusive dark fashion for every body. We launched our first brand and pieces during the spring of 2022, under the brand name Olivia Noire, which represents both the inclusive family element of our brand and the dark alt fashion inspiration behind our designs.

We primarily make fashion with a feminine goth aesthetic, focusing on dresses, skirts, blouses, pants and accessories. We make pieces for people to wear every day, and custom pieces for musicians and other artists for performances and special occasions.

What I feel sets us apart from others is the inclusive element of our brand. We are a family of creatives and misfits. We love to help style people to look and feel empowered and confident. We currently make clothing in extended sizes from XS-4XL. When designing our looks, we attempt to figure out ways of making our garments easier to wear and more comfortable for the wearer. We try to include pockets in all of our designs, and ways of adjusting the garment to accommodate many different body types. We want to make styles that are as unique as the individual who is wearing it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing my pieces out in the community, building confidence in people, and helping to support my family through a creative outlet. We love receiving pictures from our friends and clients with our clothing, with comments like “I am so happy someone is making something in my style and in my size”.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

How to build an audience on social media? Authenticity, Community and Consistency come to mind. What are you offering of your authentic self to the online community, and are you consistent in posting, replying and being active in your online community. I try to post at least once every day, and at minimum five times per week. I try to be creative in my posting, like this last Halloween we partnered with Sanctum of Horror Haunted Houses to do a photo shoot at their attraction. The photos turned out amazing, and we had such a good time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.olivianoire.com
• Instagram: olivianoireclothing
• Facebook: olivianoireclothing
• Twitter: onoireclothing
• Other: Tiktok olivianoireclothing

Image Credits
Mackenzie Lenora, Harlan Cone, Justin Lane, Billy Taylor