01IF YOU HAVE SEEN A SHEER, STRAPPY, BARELY-THERE SLIPDRESS ON A RED
CARPET LATELY, YOU HAVE SEEN NENSI DOJAKA'S INFLUENCE. THE LONDON
DESIGNER BLURRED THE LINE BETWEEN UNDERWEAR AND EVENINGWEAR, AND
AN ENTIRE MOOD OF DRESSING FOLLOWED HER LEAD.
02SHE CAME UP FAST AND FROM OUTSIDE. ALBANIAN-BORN, LONDON-TRAINED, A
FASHION EAST AND CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS ALUM, DOJAKA LAUNCHED HER
LABEL IN 2017 AND WON THE LVMH PRIZE IN 2021, WITH A JURY THAT VOTED
FOR HER UNANIMOUSLY, A FIRST IN THE PRIZE'S HISTORY.
03HER SIGNATURE IS PRECISION, NOT JUST SKIN. THE DOJAKA DRESS IS AN
ENGINEERING FEAT: TINY STRAPS, GRAPHIC CUTOUTS AND SHEER PANELS
ARRANGED SO THE WHOLE THING HOLDS TOGETHER AND HOLDS THE BODY.
LINGERIE'S CONSTRUCTION, REBUILT AS ARCHITECTURE.
04IT LANDED AT EXACTLY THE RIGHT TIME. AS FASHION TURNED BACK TOWARD
SENSUALITY, ROMANCE AND THE BODY, DOJAKA'S SHEER, DELICATE DRESSING
BECAME THE UNIFORM OF A GENERATION OF IT-GIRLS. BELLA HADID AND
EMILY RATAJKOWSKI MADE HER PIECES A RED-CARPET LANGUAGE.
05AND SHE MADE 'NAKED DRESSING' FEEL DESIGNED, NOT CHEAP. THE SHEER
DRESS COULD HAVE BEEN A SHOCK TACTIC. IN HER HANDS IT IS TAILORED,
CONSIDERED, ALMOST FRAGILE, CLOSER TO COUTURE LINGERIE THAN TO A
GRAB FOR ATTENTION. THE CUT DOES THE TALKING.
06THAT IS THE ACHIEVEMENT. A YOUNG OUTSIDER TURNED ONE DIFFICULT IDEA,
THE SHEER SLIPDRESS, INTO A SIGNATURE THE WHOLE INDUSTRY BORROWED.
SOMETIMES A DESIGNER DOES NOT CHASE THE MOOD. SHE SETS IT, AND
EVERYONE ELSE CATCHES UP LATER.