When he was 15, Noah Johnson broke his mum’s sewing machine.

And it was the best thing that could have happened.

Because his mum – recognising her son’s passion for fashion and customised clothing – purchased Johnson a sewing machine of his own for his 16th birthday.

The Tasmanian-born artist and designer has since become a rising star on the global fashion scene, with a booming online sustainable fashion business selling handmade, upcycled, one-of-a-kind clothing under his label OneOfOne Archive.

His garments, sold directly from his website (oneofonearchive.com) and shipped worldwide, have attracted huge interest on social media, with 2.1 million likes and almost 200,000 followers on TikTok as well as nearly 25,000 followers on Instagram.

Johnson has also partnered with Tourism Tasmania to produce a Tasmania x Noah Johnson range of winter clothing called Off Cuts – a bespoke, upcycled winter wardrobe to promote Tasmania’s Off Season. Meanwhile, his clothing also currently features in the pages of fashion bible Vogue Australia.

Working full-time as a designer – who proudly creates sought-after clothing entirely from second-hand and reclaimed fabrics – is a world away from those days growing up in Montrose in Hobart’s northern suburbs, as one of four children, playing around with his mum’s sewing gear.

“My mum had a sewing machine, so I started experimenting on it, doing alterations and stuff like that,’’ the now 22-year-old explains.

“I broke her machine and then she bought me one for my 16th birthday and I continued that venture and experimentation into altering, and changing fits, and sewing patches on my clothes.

“Eventually I made an Instagram account and started posting my creations there, but wearing my stuff as well … people would ask me where I got my clothes and I would tell them that I made it.”

Johnson began reworking clothes from op shops and giving new life to hand-me-downs from family and friends, while also creating various outfits using fabric from old curtains and bedding. Johnson not only loved having unique and low-cost outfits to wear but also took great pride in knowing that he was challenging waste culture and giving new life to preloved clothing that would otherwise have been destined for landfill.

“I started upcycling when I started exploring sewing and making clothes,’’ Johnson explains.

“I was a young artist and student and couldn’t afford reams of material, nor did I feel connected to these fabrics – I didn’t know where they came from, how they were made or produced. I knew that I would only create art that was as sustainable as possible, and so I thought of creating clothes from materials and garments that already existed.”

It was while studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania that Johnson’s passion for recycled and sustainable fashion deepened.

“While I was at uni, it became clear to me that I wanted to make art that was as healing for the earth as possible,’’ Johnson says.

“I was always taught to value the life cycle of things, from the production to how to extend their life through reuse. And, in a way, that has been a huge driver for me in what I do. I don’t feel the need to create new things when there’s so much already made that will be thrown away, when I could give it a new life either in the same or a different way.’’

Johnson started sharing his creations on social media and quickly realised there was a market for the clothing he was designing.

The enthusiasm from his online followers – as well as the people he met on the streets of Hobart who were impressed by his designs – encouraged Johnson to keep designing.

“I think just through posting on social media and wearing the stuff I made and seeing people’s interest in my video content, I started to make more,’’ he says.

“I had one video that blew up and did really well … I took coffee bags from one of the local coffee shops – Ecru on Criterion St in the city, that I went to daily – and I made pants out of the bags. It got millions of views and media around it. And all of a sudden I had this bigger audience on social media.

“From there, my art gained popularity, and people started to see more creative ways, and more intriguing ways, that I showed my art.’’

He says while social media gives artists and designers access to a wider audience, it also means there’s a lot of competition, so coming up with new and exciting designs – and showcasing those designs in engaging ways – was hugely important.

“There are a lot of good artists but you need to be able to portray that art in an interesting or cool way through photo or video content today,’’ Johnson says.

“I think my art was interesting already but … I feel like I broke through by finding interesting ways to show my art.’’

The pandemic also helped bolster his profile as a designer.

“I was at university, doing my Bachelor of Fine Arts and creating clothing on the side during Covid,’’ Johnson explains.

“We were in lockdown and I had more time to sew, so I put out my first upcycled collection and it sold out in just 15 minutes.

“Because everyone was sitting at home, there were more people buying online at the time and I thought maybe I could do this full-time. That was honestly the moment for me, sewing was something I took seriously because I’d been doing it since I was 16 and then I thought maybe I could make a career out of this, so I’ll try it. I’d never capitalised on a hobby to make it a business and this was a ‘let’s see what happens’ kind of moment.”

It was a gamble that paid off for Johnson, who moved to Melbourne a year ago to build his business.

He now works from a home studio at Northcote – “I’m just in my house making these clothes that hundreds of thousands of people are seeing … it’s crazy,” he says – but returns home to Tasmania regularly.

“Tasmania has been such an inspiration in my life for my work and my art especially, and it felt like a good time to explore new spaces and places to see how my art could evolve,’’ Johnson says.

“This is how I ended up in Melbourne, taking in new experiences and challenges.

“I love my home and I’m back in Tasmania every two months at least to see my family and my partner’s family – I go back to see the people I love and care about.’’

He also enjoys visiting Hobart’s waterfront, where he previously had a studio at Salamanca Arts Centre. Johnson has always enjoyed people-watching in the area, which helps provide inspiration for his fashion designs.

He is grateful for the experience of working alongside – and learning from – other Tasmanian artists, especially those with decades of experience.

“In my studio at the Salamanca Arts Centre, I was the only textile artist amongst jewellery makers, printmakers, painters and vocal teachers,’’ Johnson recalls.

“It was a really diverse space and community for the arts and what I loved most was that I was younger than everyone by decades. That was a really important thing for me and felt important to my art.

“I was learning from these older artists who offered me so much life experience. Many of them didn’t know how to use their iPhones, and they were amazed at how I sold my clothes on TikTok. This one guy in particular was 75 and he sold his art entirely by word of mouth and was connected to customers in totally different ways than how many creators present their work and art today on social media. It gave me perspective. It was also a nice change from sewing at home alone and really pulled me into a community – there was so much on offer there for me.”

Johnson says being invited to create a winter capsule collection for Tasmania’s Off Season – a campaign that celebrates Tasmania’s many winter offerings in a bid to lure visitors from across Australia and beyond – was a challenge that really excited him.

Not only has it enabled Johnson to create a series of unisex pieces guaranteed to brighten up the darkest winter days but he’s also proud to be promoting his home state in a new and exciting way.

The Tasmania x Noah Johnson Off Cuts collection is being billed as “a capsule collection designed to knock the socks off summer fashion … by repurposing them into something far more exciting for winter’’.

Sustainably sourced and handmade, Off Cuts is curated from discarded cliche summer tourist apparel and materials, repurposed into something exciting for winter.

Bikinis have become beanies, tropical shirts have been restitched as Johnson’s staple cropped boxy jackets, and wide-legged pants have been made from vintage tourist tea towels.

“In Off Cuts, I wanted to create a collection out of clothing and materials that people don’t wear often, or that may be seen as disposable – like tourist T-shirts and quirky souvenirs – and then present them in an entirely new context,’’ Johnson explains.

“I wanted to capture the essence of what people buy when they think of ‘tourism’ and repurpose and subvert that to represent Tasmania’s Off Season.

“Each piece is unique, and takes inspiration and prompts from the materials used to create them – from beach towels and board shorts, to sleeping bags and doonas.’’

He says winter in Tasmania is a great time for people to make some bold fashion choices, have some fun with their outfits and get out and enjoy the crisp fresh air.

“When people think of winter they might think of cold, grey or depressing,” he said.

“This couldn’t be further from the truth in Tasmania. Tasmania is playful and unexpected, and while it’s dark and moody at times, Tasmania also knows that winter is fun.

“The bright use of colours in the collection speaks to this.

“It’s that playfulness that really prompted me to design Off Cuts — I wanted to show that winter doesn’t have to be so serious, it can be colourful, ‘out there’ and alive.

“The stories behind each of the second-hand materials used in the Off Cuts collection really come together to tell a new story, and this is what I love about upcycling fashion.”

Tourism Tasmania chief executive officer Sarah Clark says Tasmania’s Off Season doesn’t feel like anywhere else. And now, with the help of Johnson’s eye-catching fashion pieces, it doesn’t look like anywhere else, either.

“We wanted to partner with an artist who could encapsulate the essence of Tasmania’s Off Season as the antithesis of a cliche summer holiday through art and design,’’ she says.

“We love Noah’s energy, passion, creativity, and his exploration of upcycled fashion as a means to create designs that are sustainable.

“We have created something truly Tasmanian in Off Cuts and are proud to share this collection with Australia.’’

Johnson says the collaboration had been a great creative opportunity to showcase the beauty of his work, and the beauty of his home state.

“I am proud to be working with Tourism Tasmania to tell The Off Season story through upcycled fashion,’ he says.

“It’s incredible that they want to showcase a small, independent designer … and I hope this collaboration inspires others who are exploring the potential of upcycling. I hope it encourages a broader audience to engage in upcycled clothing by wearing, purchasing, and talking about this collection.

“Growing up on the land of the palawa people in lutruwita (Tasmania), I am passionate about taking responsibility for giving back to the earth, in return for what it is giving to us. Through my designs, I explore how I can create art and clothing that is as healing for the earth as possible.

“I want to prompt and inspire others to question how they can participate in that in a way that is fun and playful.”

While Johnson formulates a rough plan for each of his designs, he admits his creations often morph into something quite different in response to the materials he sources and the inspiration these materials provide.

“I love the unpredictability of upcycling,’’ he says.

“I am inspired by the materials and garments in front of me and this inspiration takes shape as I create. From denim to mattresses and other weird and wacky things that end up on my table, I am driven to reuse these second-hand materials to create pieces that are even weirder and wackier.

“I usually have a rough idea of what I want to create. When I lack inspiration I sketch, but that’s rare. I always have direction. I usually go and source items with the idea in mind and then I let the fabric speak to me because I change things based on the way the fabric interacts with me and the sewing machine. It might not sew or sit the way I thought it would, so I need to make adjustments to my vision.”

Johnson hopes his transition from self-taught sewing enthusiast to high-profile fashion designer will inspire other Tasmanians to be bold and follow their dreams.

“Tassie has always felt like a quiet state to me, and it really shaped me growing up,’’ Johnson says.

“I’ve always wanted to find a way to leave my mark on where I was born and I am motivated to do big things. I want to show other Tasmanian artists and kids that you can come from our small state and still do big things.” •

The Off Cuts collection by Tasmania x Noah Johnson is now available for purchase online – visit discovertasmania.com.au/off-cuts for details.