The third release from Noah Milo’s label, Jonas (jonas19.com), is called “17.” It is designed to carry the weight of the world: The global pandemic, systemic oppression, globalization, misinformation, corruption and war manifested in upcycled and appliquéd leather jackets, minimally constructed t-shirts, and acrylic and wax bags hand-painted with camo, graffiti-style and brightly-coloured advertisements. Although his designs are conceptually political, in reality, Jonas is rooted in comfort.
“The truth is, all my clothes are pajamas,” says the 19-year old, who primarily used season-appropriate fabrics like knit, plaid, wool, chenille and twill in his latest collection. “When I set my sights to the ready-to-wear future of Jonas, Jonas is a comfortwear brand, synonymous to homewear, indoor wear, underwear… Especially during the pandemic where our orientation of the world has been inverted to the indoors. Why shouldn’t you express yourself in your inner world? And why not with the rich imagination of Jonas designs?”
Milo began planning his fashion line at the age of 14. After discovering his grandmother’s sewing machine, he learned how to sew on his own, with the help of YouTube.
He learned about textiles from working an after-school job at a Marshall Fabrics store in Edmonton. For part of his childhood, he lived just a few kilometres away from the Great Pyramid of Giza when his father was on a two-year working visa, working for an international TV channel in Cairo. Learning from Egypt’s culture, language, nature and people, Milo attributes much of his present-day perspective to the time he spent living in North Africa.
“I was raised as a global citizen, so ethically I’ve always had to consider things on the global scale. My identity stands at the intersection of so many things … It’s made me an extremely plural and creative person, and it shows in my designs.”
HAIR AND MAKEUP DENÉE NOEL
MODEL NYAGOA, MODE MODELS
This article appears in the December 2020 issue of Edify
