How Designer Misha Nonoo Preps for New York Fashion Week

Only three years after the debut of her first collection, Misha Nonoo has already established herself as a name to know (and she’s still a few years shy of her 30th birthday). Her famous clients, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Pippa Middleton, and Sarah Jessica Parker, have helped raise her profile, but the hand-painted fabrics, ladylike dresses, and sophisticated coats have earned her real fashion respect—and a place in the CFDA Incubator.

The Bahrain-born, London-raised designer is gearing up to who her spring 2015 collection in New York City on Friday, a collaboration with contemporary artist Dustin Yellin. “He’s been a complete dream to work with,” she says. She’ll also reveal a collection of shoes and bags for Aldo Rise, which will hit stores this spring. In between tending to the last details of her collection, Nonoo took a few minutes to share her pre-fashion week beauty rituals with Yahoo! Beauty. Turns out, it all starts with a positive attitude.

I fill my bag with…my Bobbi Brown Concealer ($25) and Gel Liner ($24) in Caviar, which I love. I use those no matter what, along with tinted moisturizer.

My go-to outfit…always involves a white cotton shirt or blouse. If you’re really dressed up in some getup, it can be hard to do fittings, to stand behind a girl and really look at something—it’s good to keep it classic and composed. And you can wear a white shirt in a million different ways.

The only shoes I’ll wear are…It totally depends. Today, it’s all-day fittings, so it’s flats. If I have a morning of meetings, it’s heels. Often if I have heels, I have a pair of flats in my bag and vice versa. I live “day to night” and usually don’t go home in between. My collection is all about versatility.

I snack on…fruit-and-nut bars, dry roasted almonds. I’m very lucky in that my mother loads me up with snacks before the show. We get breakfast and lunch catering for the office, because in the crazy times, people are not going out for lunch. We make sure everybody’s fed, otherwise people start to feel a bit woozy.

Four weeks before fashion week…feels like a long way away! Everything is designed, but sometimes fabrics are still trickling in.

Two weeks out, I…put the pedal to the metal! Samples are coming in, and it’s starting to come together. It’s exciting, and at the same time, you’ve got enough time to fix things.

The night before, I…am working late, sometimes until 3AM. I’ll be doing last-minute fittings, making model cards and the boards for backstage, making sure all the shoes are labeled correctly. It’s just constant in terms of everything that you have to do. Luckily, it’s not a morning show.

In the morning I eat…fruit juice. I start my mornings with a juice that I make myself at home.

If I have a minute to work out I…love yoga, but I’ve had to give it up. Ten days before the show, you can’t find the time. My exercise is going to and from the subway.

You’ll catch me reading…I’m reading Hemingway right now: To Have and Have Not. It’s great.

The only way I can clear my mind is…by taking my vitamins.

My coffee shop order is…I don’t drink coffee, only tea. Sometimes I’ll have green tea in the morning, but not often—it’s too much caffeine. I drink a lot of herbal tea: kukicha, chamomile, or peppermint. It’s boring—I wish I were into jazzy drinks like mocha vanilla lattes.

If I’m losing my mind I repeat….I think, actually, I’m very blessed to do what I do. There are so many very serious atrocities going on in the world. I feel extremely lucky to be healthy and in a safe place and to have great people around me. When people get upset, you’ve got to think, “Let’s put this in perspective.”

The song that pumps up my energy is…I’m loving Blood Orange right now. I’m playing it on repeat a lot. Their whole album is very good.

My favorite part about fashion week is…show day. Standing backstage and watching the monitor—it’s both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. You’ve got to let it go and realize there’s nothing more you can do. I just hope everybody loves it.

But I can’t handle the…Nothing! I try to be as optimistic as possible. Yes, it’s a very busy time, and it’s harder to get taxis, and you’re running around. But again, I feel very lucky to do what I do. I feel truly blessed to be living out my dream and creating every day. It’s so exciting, there’s nothing about it I hate. You’ve just got to make sure everybody around you feels happy and upbeat, and that they’re sharing the vision.

I wind down with a glass of…red wine. I love a good merlot. I’m quite into sherry, but sherry gets me going—I have that before I go out!