meet joerg zuber: the fashion innovator transforming our digital wardrobes
In the ever-evolving landscape of fashion, where technology intertwines with artistic expression, a captivating new player has emerged: Ninzoou. This visionary digital fashion atelier, led by the renowned fashion innovator Joerg Zuber, is set to change the way we experience fashion. With an audacious and forward-thinking approach, Ninzoou’s debut collection MORE THAN HUMAN is determined to reshape our perception and interaction with fashion in the digital age.
Hi Joerg! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today!
Tell the readers about yourself and what it is that you do (ALL the things, please! 🥰)
Thank you so much for having me. I am a person with dreams which lead me to many of my projects and jobs that I am lucky to be able to do. Dreaming is my motor for all the things I do. When I created Noonoouri I wanted to link the bridge between glitz/glam and social, to raise the voice for those who are in need. Getting awareness. Noonoouri is a constant inspiration for me and hopefully for all other people out there. She is made by humans for humans. The way I can reach people with her made me think of what I can do with NINZOOU on another level. More of a movement, of something that is a universe keeping a special spirit and mindset alive.
What inspired you to create a virtual influencer? Speak to your thought process behind creating Noonoouri and defining her as an virtual influencer.
Actually she is more of a digital character/model – she is contracted with the global model agency IMG. She has been on several cover editorials and campaigns. So everything is very high end and she always delivers a certain quality to her brands and audiences. On the other side I am creating awareness with her for those who are in need – children, animals and nature.
Noonoouri is incredibly different from other influencers you come across on the internet, aside from the fact that she’s not human. She stands for something. Her design doesn’t reinforce tired beauty standards that are often circulated on social media.
I made her speak up for the voiceless. She is more of a model than a classical influencer – as receiving a physical handbag for a post does not pay the bills for the meanwhile 8-10 people working constantly on her. Which means I need to push things day by day to finance her existence. A big effort! As a still post takes us up to 3 days and animation therefore much longer.
@noonoouri’s Instagram
How important was it that Noonoouri did not fit the mold of your typical influencer?
I think this fact was very organic. As I never had a checklist of what to do and what not. I had the idea of her when I was a 5 year old boy. Over the years she grew only in my head and heart – in 2011 I started to work seriously on here, 2018 FEB I brought her out – over 7 years I tried to find an investor… Nobody supported me, nobody believed in my dreams – except me.
How did you get into the digital fashion space?
I think it was a logical consequence from the digital model [Noonoouri] to step into the digital fashion world, as obviously she needs to wear something. From this fact my companions Alex and Bobo we thought about different ideas to create not only another fashion label in the digi world – we wanted to create more of a space of digital fashion.
You recently launched a digital fashion collection with digital fashion marketplace, DressX, titled MORE THAN HUMAN. Tell us about it!
Yes, the collaboration with DRESSX started last year when the war in Ukraine began, where we collected money for a digital dress in the shape of a heart in the colors of the ukraine flag. We generated money for those who needed it – I felt it was amazing and would give this a very strong meaning to what digital fashion can be – then the idea of Ninzoou started to grow. And here we are!
How did this collaboration come about? What is the inspiration behind the collection?
The collaboration started with Noonoouri – who they asked to support and promote the Ukraine-heart dress. Then there was a strong bond to the company so when we thought about where to launch first – it was obvious that it should be DRESSX as we had a great way of working together then. The inspiration of the collection can be found in nature and life – our only constant in life is change – same like nature – which never stops to evolve and change itself. The MORE THAN HUMAN collection is about two souls in our heart – the tec/rational and the love/emotional one. Which is together and a superstrong force..
You had a love for fashion magazines at a young age, as did I. I was a big fan of the fashion models and would imagine the pages coming to life as I flipped through the magazine. What drew you to fashion magazines and design at the time?
My mum gave me money to buy a magazine at the store – I came back with a VOGUE instead of any comic etc. I was intrigued by the haptic, glossy paper, the art of photography, the models, and the amazing world that was created there. It was heaven for me. And then when I watched on TV my first fashion show of Gianni Versace with all the supermodels and the moment when the lights turned off, the deep bass of the music stepped in and the spotlight hit on the first model – I knew this must be otherworldly.
How does that love shine through your work with Ninzoou?
I hope you can see this is all the pieces we create, I hope people can feel the passion and power that infuses me.
At FRWRD, we believe that the power of digital fashion and virtual influencers lies in the ability to change perspectives through storytelling - providing the audience with a different lens or angle of viewing fashion.
What is your opinion on the future of digital fashion and virtual influencers?
I totally agree that digital is a big change in everything! See the covid pandemic – without digital we would have been lost somehow. But it brought us even closer together! We can test and start thinking in new ways of production BEFORE we produce things physically and waste a lot of natural resources. I think digital should make us think wiser and generate more feeling for our planet.
As the use cases continue to develop, how do you think it can be used to drive the change we wish to see?
The power the digital becomes and the more – especially – young target groups show their addiction to the digital the better and more powerful it becomes. We can test a lot of things in advance before producing something like a shoot in the dark – we can test, check, ask the community and maybe produce more on demand than just on stock.
Lastly, your journey to where you are today is incredible and inspiring. I had the pleasure of listening to your masterclass at Kunsthal back in 2020. In your presentation, you discuss your journey to working in fashion and how you did it ‘your way’. Speak to that experience of taking the road less traveled by and what advice would you give to someone who is finding their own way into their desired industry?
Thank you so much and happy you still remember the masterclass at KUNSTAL in Rotterdam – it was a wonderful and very honorable moment for me to speak at the same stage like once (among many others) Thierry Mugler, I love him (RIP GENIUS). I feel the most important thing is to DREAM and never lose HOPE. I received so many Nos in my life and mostly I grew stronger and more powerful through all the Nos I got. Just because of the fact that I believed and still believe so strongly in what I do – with passion, power and love. Embracing life every day and being thankful to move and to do things.
