Designer of Meghan Markle’s ‘Husband Shirt’, Misha Nonoo, on sustainable fashion and her on-demand business model

Nonoo now only makes a piece when an order comes in, saying she would rather ask her customers to wait a few days than overproduce

The Bahrain-born, London-raised designer is influenced by the typically Parisian style of owning a few high-quality pieces worn in rotation with one another

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Meghan Markle (right), the Duchess of Sussex, embraces designer Misha Nonoo as the pair launch the Smart Works capsule collection on September 12, 2019 in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 2:45pm, 3 Feb 2021Updated: 4:31pm, 3 Feb 2021

Misha Nonoo’s “Husband Shirt” has become beloved by influencers and editors and has starrier fans as well, such as supermodel Karlie Kloss and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex – perhaps the most influential style icon of her generation. The piece, available in a range of colours, fabrics and stud options, has become an enduring classic and perennial favourite of Nonoo’s nine-year-old brand.

The designer, who is based between New York and London (she has a store in Manhattan), was wearing it shortly before our Zoom interview, an olive linen version with gold studs that she had paired with jeans, tucked in slightly in the front, left loose in the back. She’d also previously worn it with a slender skirt, and left breezy and unbuttoned over a bikini for a day at the beach.

For Nonoo, the shirt – like everything else in her eponymous brand – was created with considerable thought. She says that she has long been a minimalist, preferring a few choice pieces in her wardrobe than a lot of random ones. It is an aesthetic that the Bahrain-born, London-raised designer honed while studying in Paris – where she went to get her degree not in fashion, but in business.

It’s that same pared-down aesthetic that appears in all her collections, whether it be geared to women working from home or for those who may step out for a small, socially distanced holiday gathering.

Markle wearing the Husband Shirt with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games 2017 in Toronto, Canada. Photo: AFP

Nonoo recalls wanting to become a fashion designer when she was 14 or 15, although concedes that “when that idea came to formation, who knew what that statement meant.” It was 20 years ago and she found herself profoundly influenced by Alexander McQueen, who was the fashion world’s big star at the time. When she told her parents she wanted to get into fashion, they advised her to go to business school.