Nini Noun
Captured by François Mittins
Guilt Doesn’t Get the Final Say
In this talk, Nini Noun reflects on identity, workplace trauma, family expectations, and the pressure of wanting to make her parents’ sacrifices worth something.
She begins with a childhood dream of becoming a K-pop idol, a funny but deeply personal chapter that marked the first time she saw people who looked like her taking up space creatively and unapologetically. Fashion quickly became more than self-expression. It became tied to identity, visibility, and survival.
Raised by Cambodian parents who survived the Khmer Rouge and rebuilt their lives in Canada, she grew up surrounded by sewing machines, handmade clothing, and creativity rooted in necessity. But alongside that came guilt. The feeling that success had to justify sacrifice.
Trying to balance passion with practicality, she pursued fashion marketing instead of fashion design, leading her into a series of abusive work environments that slowly disconnected her from herself and her creativity. Even after landing a stable agency role, burnout and self-doubt continued to build.
Everything shifts after discovering Ottawa’s vintage market community. What starts as secondhand reselling reconnects her to fashion, but eventually forces her to question overconsumption, scarcity, and the ethics behind the business she’s building. That realization pushes her toward launching With Nini, an ethically made clothing brand shaped alongside her mother, who eventually joins the business directly.
She closes on the idea that guilt never fully disappears. Neither does self-doubt. But over time, those feelings stop controlling the direction of her life.
The guilt is still there. It just doesn’t get the final say anymore.
withnini.com
@withninishop
