an interview with Alexia Ioannou, Founder of Nou
on moving with authenticity & letting the universe take the wheel
If there’s one thing to take from this conversation with Alexia Ioannou, Founder of nou, it’s that staying in alignment with what feels true to you is the real cheat code – whether you’re starting a brand or just trying to figure out what’s next.
For Alexia, that truth was always right in front of her: vintage shoes, designer gems, and a lifelong obsession with all things style and design. So when a TikTok of her walking in a pair of vintage Dior dice mules unexpectedly took off, she didn’t overthink it. She leaned in. A few curated drops later, nou was born.
She ran the business as a resale brand for years — sourcing vintage, selling to a growing fanbase, and building a tight-knit community (shoutout to “the noubies”). But earlier this year, as prices for vintage skyrocketed and the market got saturated, she pivoted. Everyone told her not to make her own shoes: ‘too expensive, too complicated, too risky’.
She did it anyway.
Alexia’s first silhouette launched in under three months. Her second, the mule, just dropped. And her gut hasn’t steered her wrong yet.
This week, we talked about how nou came to be, what it looks like to build fast and loud, and why doing things your own way – even when it makes zero “business sense” – might actually be the smartest move of all.
Let’s get into it.
First and foremost, can you give me a little bit of context about your business and how you got started?
I am a shoe designer now, but I originally got my start in vintage curation, specializing in vintage designer shoes.
Talk to me about Nou, because that's actually how I initially discovered you – with the curated vintage drops you were doing. How did you get started with that?
It all really happened very naturally. I was kind of in this place in my life where I was doing a lot of self-discovery. It was during COVID, which I think a lot of us were having to be introspective and try to understand what actually makes us happy.
One day I posted a TikTok of just me walking. It was just my shoes. It was a pair of jeans, and it was a vintage pair of Dior dice mules. I went to dinner and when I got home, my phone was blowing up. It had hundreds of thousands of views, tons of comments. Everybody was like, “Where can I get these shoes? Drop the link.”
So I decided to do a limited edition drop of like 10 pairs of different vintage designer shoes. It sold out immediately.
I was like, this feels really natural to me because it's part of my personal aesthetic. I love vintage Levi's and a pair of amazing shoes. It's pretty much all I wear. That and a white T-shirt. So before I knew it, I had my own studio and clients that I never could have dreamed of working with.
I think a lot of people are in a period of time in their lives, especially women in their 20s and 30s, who are in a career path and want to do something different, but don't really know how. What’s your advice for someone in that period of life?
If you have an idea and you feel this itch and you want to do it, the longer you wait, the more of a disservice you're doing to yourself and to everyone else. Just do it. Find a way and do it.
You very recently decided to design your own footwear – which is so cool – tell me about where Nou is today.
I was really lucky to get into the vintage market right as it was about to peak with people wanting to shop more sustainably. As I started, it became more popular, which was great for my business. but it also kind of made me bored because everyone started selling the same stuff. Then shoes were getting really expensive and I don't really agree with that philosophy. I don't spend $800 on shoes and I don't want my new girl to have to cash out like that either.
I wanted to make a shoe. So I told my boyfriend, I told my whole family, I was telling everyone I know. Do you know anyone that makes shoes? I connected with every major footwear label to see if they would make a shoe with me. People were like, “Don’t do it yourself. You’ll go bankrupt. Shoes are impossible. They’re so expensive.”
So I said, okay, I’m going to make a video on Instagram saying I’m going to make a shoe, even though I have no idea how. And I was very transparent. I said, “You’re going to figure it out with me.” One of my amazing clients happens to have a background in shoes. She wrote me a DM and said, “I can connect you with somebody I’ve worked with before.” And that’s who I work with now.
I made that video on February 10th and I had my product available to the market on May 20th.
That's such a good reminder that if there's a will there's a way.
Exactly. And you also just need to be 10 steps ahead. Like once I saw that the vintage market was hitting this cap and I was feeling this personal burnout, I was like, what are people going to want next?
They're going to want products that they can have for decades because the vintage shoes have survived 30 years already. The consumer is going to start thinking more about what they can have in their closets that they can give to their daughters or that they could be wearing when they are 60.
Shifting gears a bit – what is one rule that you've broken through this process that changed everything for you?
I really pride myself on building out loud. The good things and the bad things.
I have my Noubies chat on Instagram where I'll tell people: “I’m pulling my hair out because the shoes are stuck in customs, which is why you don’t have your shoes yet.”
I feel like a lot of people gatekeep these inner workings of their business because it is sacred and it is scary. But people are either going to hate you for it or they're going to love you for it.
What is your advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, early stage founders, or someone that's kind of in the thick of getting something off the ground? What's your biggest piece of advice for them?
My mantra every day is progress, not perfection. As long as I'm getting shit done, I'm moving the needle.
I don't make too many samples. I don't overdo my graphics. I mean, my team internally at Nou is me and my boyfriend. There's nobody else. So I do every single thing for this business and I will always prioritize getting it done fast.
What's next for you and Nou?
My whole philosophy is I want to offer one solid product and one very limited edition stand out product. Right now, we have vintage snakeskin fabrics but they'll always be next to something that a more simple customer could also go for.
Follow along with Alexia and shop her incredible shoes here !
Over & out,
—ari