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

Alright, Noemie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My most meaningful projects were the two Vogue Instagram challenges that I took part in 2020. During the early stages of the pandemic, Vogue came to Instagram and asked people to recreate their favorite Met Gala looks from home and share their creations on Instagram.

In March of 2020, after I abruptly left university like many of my peers, I found myself stuck at home feeling very lost and anxious, with no desire to create anything even though it felt like I finally had all the time in the world. During a time that was so anxiety inducing, having a challenge that allowed me to experiment with materials I had at home and connect with others online was truly wonderful. I recreated Lana Condor’s 2019 Met Gala look out of mover’s plastic I found thrown away near my house. The photos ended up in an Instagram ad! This whole experience helped me see my creativity was always something that would help me feel more like myself, even during difficult times.

Later in the year, I took part of a similar challenge, the Vogue Couch Couture Challenge and ended up in a Vogue article. I look back at those two challenges and the pieces I created for them very fondly.

Noemie, 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?

My name is Noemie, I am a half french half Japanese fashion designer living in London. I love to work with second hand and unconventional materials and bringing life into textiles that would’ve ended up in Landfills. I make my designs for people who love color and movement, and especially ruffles. I have an online shop where sell my clothing but mostly work on custom pieces for musicians to wear in music videos and concerts. I have a degree in Business Management but throughout my university career, spent a lot of time making costumes for theatre productions and collections for fashion shows. I am also a content creator, I absolutely love sharing my passion for fashion design online and connecting with fellow designers.

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

I love the moment where I see a piece I’ve been working on come together. The first fitting, the first time a flat piece of fabric looks 3D. Every time I experience it I almost cannot believe that it was me that brought the piece to life. I sometimes get lost in the stress of deadlines and high expectations and all, but feeling like my hands can do magic is a wonderful feeling I look forward to in every piece I make.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The book Solo: How to Work Alone (and Not Lose Your Mind) By Rebecca Seal is a book I think any freelancer, creative and entrepreneur should read. Working for yourself or alone is a terrifying journey to go on and having the right tools is crucial. Reading the book a year and a half into my freelancing career, I was shocked to see that my experience was so similar to others and wish I had read it much sooner. I reread this book every 6 months because there is always something new for me to learn at every part of my freelancing journey.

My biggest shift in thinking has been how I ask for help and advice from others. For a while I took pride in doing everything myself but I learned very quickly that no one is capable of doing absolutely everything on their own, and I am so so far form perfect; asking for help is completely normal. Working with others can also bring you so many fresh ideas and help the creative juices flow, I really wish I had prioritized networking and building a community at the beginning of my career, it would’ve helped me so much.

Contact Info:

• Website: noedresses.com
• Instagram: @noedresses & @noemie_jouas
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noemie-jouas/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@noedresses
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@noedresses