Founded in 1996, Dr. Noki is a tried and true member of the sustainability movement – perhaps being a founder of the word before it really became one. SOMETHING. Founding his namesake label under the legacy of London’s ’90s DIY scene, the revolutionary designer has always walked a fearless path, conveying a message of rebellion.
NOKI aims to represent the voices of tomorrow, creating recycled clothing hand-picked from vintage landfills, alongside its flagship line of distressed sportswear featuring fused logos and 1-on-1 streetwear creations. Now, it lands on the London Fashion Week calendar, showcasing the brand’s SS23 collection.
When we spoke with Dr. Noki in September 2020 about the legacy of Eastern Fashion and offered an oral history on the talent disrupting the London industry, he said:
“I was in the middle of all these different teams from London, coming from Camden, Soho, Portobello. And it was exactly the days of Shoreditch: out of my head, destroyed by ticks, surrounded by more people by their ticks, ravaged and hijacked by becoming toxic. I’m not really fashionably built; I’m not very good at being around the fashion industry. I tried, but it wasn’t going anywhere. The press was drying up. I didn’t feel like I could go any further with it, so I left and started working on my art again.”
However, his SS23 presentation felt the buzz amid this earlier statement. It was anti-fashion in all the signature NOKI ways, subverting every look we’ve seen so far this season. It goes against the norm. He says “I don’t care about fashion”, when maybe you really do. This is because, in a collection consisting mainly of recycled and distressed clothing, spiral underwear from his NHS iconography, references to the world of sportswear and sneakers such as the Nike Air Force 1 or the sporty looks of the adidas Originals Stan Smith, it all comes together for someone. who cares about their image, just not in an exposed kind of way.
It began with the label welcoming its choice of an intimate crowd to a room followed by classic and decorated compositions with chairs draped in custom NOKI t-shirts – with some plays on the themes that appeared on the runway show. The atmosphere was pure excitement. Perhaps morale was boosted by the show’s credits, which instead of delivering punch lines and hyperbole decided to describe the names of each piece of art and the look: “FACEBOOK STARTS WAR,” “KAREN WITH AK,” “MONKEY POX.” and “SHREDDED MINIONS”. ZINA.”
The music then flowed through the JBL boom boxes playing different tunes for the model wearing it, via Bluetooth from their individual phones. From there, the Hypebeast team whittled the presentation down to something suitable for it Cleaning, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Shoes were confused, cuts were casual and then too precise to outline the faces in the clothes, low-waisted elements combined with high-waisted additions to create inverted looks of traditional jeans and trousers, which for us, are fashionable in the right for all the best, twisted ways.
It was a frenzy. Viewers brought the energy with their audible appreciation and sustained “oohs” and “aahs,” especially when looks that combined the hair with the ensemble and the artwork with the model took center stage. The models did whatever they wanted — Noki peeked out and threw tees into the crowd from the backpack of a model in front of him, while others pulled their clothes down or up on other occasions, posed for the cameras, let off steam on the runway, and ultimately helped make the show the energetic showcase that it was.
Take a look at the walking art that was NOKI’s SS23 collection in the gallery above. More of Hypebeast’s London Fashion Week SS23 content can be found here and on our new Instagram account, @HypebeastUK.
For more LFW content, here are the best trends from this week’s show.
