There’s an undeniable, irresistible aura emanating from Noa Maras’ clothes. It’s probably because there’s an actual bright white light beaming from the centre of most of them. Maras, a graduate of Central Saint Martins’ printmaking course, takes old, Tumblr-esque photos of albino bunnies, abandoned buildings and old bus stops and photoshops in mysterious light sources, laser red eyes and swirling energy sources. One of his biggest inspirations is supposed sightings of cryptids (mythical creatures like Bigfoot and Mothman). “I want [my work] to resemble a magical world that is similar to ours, striking into an uncanny valley between familiarity and strangeness,” says Maras.

Raised on a diet of Tumblr, DeviantArt, niche video games and Walter Van Beirendonck, Maras left his native Poland in the 2010s to enrol in the London College of Fashion’s Menswear course before switching to CSM to pursue his passion for printmaking. Unlike his CSM classmates, Maras eschewed the traditional route of shows, collections and buyers. When he launched his own label, Wenpius, he opted for releasing handmade drops directly from its website. “I don’t trust the traditional system of creating collections for trading B2B,” says Maras. “A lot of small and medium brands really struggle with money because they depend on it so much. Their whole livelihood lies in the hands of a few buyers. The mark-ups of prices that stores do are insane!”

That scepticism seems to be paying off – the items on Maras’ website are perennially sold out, and a direct connection with his fans means that he’s slowly growing his business, on his own terms. “I’ve managed to not fall down the trap of the ‘correct way’ to do a fashion brand, that routinely chomps down on young, ambitious graduates, then chews them up and spits them into a bin.”

Below, we catch up with Maras about creepypasta, cryptids and the story behind the name Wenpius.

Why did you want to become a designer? What inspired you to get into fashion as a kid?

Noa Maras: My love for fashion comes from my passion for character design. As a child, I was always drawing and writing stories. I spent a lot of time watching anime. My favourite was Bleach. Its creator, Tite Kubo, made his characters in groups of ten and each of them has a personality and a power connected to their outfit. Each look is distinct and bold, but all ten are cohesive – kind of like a collection. The idea of clothes as something with a kind of mystical, magical power was what drove me towards fashion design. Then, when I was 13, I saw Walter Van Beirendonck’s work on Tumblr, and though ‘wait… you can do that?!’ Fashion design was a way to bring my characters to life.

How did you land on your current style?

Noa Maras: When I design a collection, I always imagine a setting for a story. I am a big fan of horror, especially creepypasta stories and niche indie games. I think of the characters and their relationships. I often write little scenes of them interacting and what the backstory is. Clothes mean so much more when they are tied to a personality, a body and a context.

What are the inspirations behind some of the specific prints? There are a lot of red-eyed bunnies and creepy landscapes.

Noa Maras: I think the key aspect of my design language is the muddying of physical and digital worlds that my generation experienced. I grew up on Tumblr and scrolled through hundreds of images a day. In my memories, these images blend together with reality. On Tumblr, amateur photos that weren’t taken with artistic intention received thousands of reblogs  – flash photos of white animals, their fur making their features disappear, or a patch of flowers by the parking lot, or a plate of food on a messy table. On the Tumblr grid, in the company of “better” photos, these images gained an aura of eeriness and weird beauty. I like to use these “normal” style photos in my graphics, and I highlight their eerie quality by photoshopping in some auras, lights and red lines and circles.

Can you talk me through the process of sourcing the different materials?

Noa Maras: At the moment, I do a mix of upcycled items and garments I buy as blanks from a supplier. I love working on secondhand clothing, and I’m very passionate about the sustainability angle of it, but it brings up a lot of time-consuming challenges – removing stains, patching up holes, flipping collars around. In the future, I want to manufacture my own blank hoodies with my own patterns, possibly somewhere in the UK or Europe.

And how do you print on each one?

Noa Maras: The big strength of my brand is that I use a combination of print methods – airbrushing, sublimation, screenprinting, applique, direct-to-film, and direct-to-garment. Using them all together, entwining them with each other throughout the garment, creates a very unique look. I’ve got so many tools in my kit. It’s like I’m playing 6 instruments and can create any song I like. 

What do you want for the future of fashion?

Noa Maras: I feel we are blinded by nostalgia. By chasing the glamorous fantasy of an industry we fell in love with as kids, we project these romanticised ideas of the 20th Century into this 2020s hypercapitalist dystopia. We don’t live in that world anymore. We need to make peace with that and change how we work. I want to see this industry thrive. I want to see young designers able to realise their vision and push the fashion culture forward.

As a lover of fashion I just feel really heartbroken hearing about smaller brands struggling or shutting down. There’s so much value in our work. I’m not saying I’m some kind of business genius whose brand is destined to make profit forever. I just feel like I’ve managed to not fall into the trap of “the correct way to do a fashion brand” that routinely chomps down on ambitious young graduates, then chews them up and spits them into a bin. I think there’s a better way forward. It’s becoming focused on craft, slow-fashion, and making 1-of-1 items in house. It’s about transparency, community and respect for others.