Freedom, honesty, rawness and sex are all elements that fuel the youthful essence and post-Soviet aesthetic of Misbhv. Led by Natalia Maczek and Thomas Wirski, the Polish brand unites elevated streetwear with avant-garde suiting to form the ultimate club wear solutions.
Hailing from a post-USSR and pre-EU world, where analog hadn’t met digital, Misbhv’s identity is an ode to Poland in the 2000s. From sleek shoulder bags and gothic buckled leather boots, to tribal monogram prints and graphic active wear, Wirski emphasizes that memories of growing up in Eastern Europe will always serve as a strong influence for all things Misbhv.
Where ready-to-wear meets seedy strip joints, Misbhv’s collaborators include artists like DJ Hell, Wolfram and Julian Klincewicz on their eponymous record label. Thomas Wirski gives us a peek into Misbhv’s resilient universe, where fashion and music coexist in their underground empire.
Where ready-to-wear meets seedy strip joints, Misbhv’s collaborators include artists like DJ Hell, Wolfram and Julian Klincewicz on their eponymous record label. Thomas Wirski gives us a peek into Misbhv’s resilient universe, where fashion and music coexist in their underground empire.
Misbhv boasts a very youthful and experimental approach throughout its collections. As street wear is merged with an avant-garde aesthetic, how did the brand first come together?
Thank you! That's a very nice compliment. We started building our world by customizing vintage pieces, experimenting with screen printing, learning about music, photography and film – things you do when you’re 19. We were very lucky to come to Paris at the time when the new wave of post-street and post-exclusive brands started really changing the status quo. From one day to another, Misbhv went from screen printing in a small studio run by punks in the south of Poland, to being merchandised next to Prada and Balenciaga in fancy stores in Italy.
From reflective monograms and melted graphic prints, to tailored suiting and trench coats, Misbhv is deeply embedded in the electronic-to-punk scene and its Eastern European roots. Can you tell us a little more about your connection to club culture and electronic music in its entirety?
Music always played a key role in the development of our ideas and was parallel to fashion for us. This is where we come from and what we know. We’ve staged small fashion shows in New York and Paris while collaborating with partners ranging from Kyiv's Cxema and Dixon’s Transmoderna, to Unsound Festival. We work with artists, we release music and make pro-EU raves in Eastern Europe, as well as intimate parties in seedy strip joints. We would like our fashion and music to sit right next to each other, in the most respectful and honest way.
Are there any particular subcultural elements that formed the brand’s identity the most?
Honestly, I think Poland in the 2000s; there are many memories of growing up in this really strange environment that Eastern Europe was at the time. Post-USSR and pre-EU, post-analog and pre-digital. Every collection has a different theme, with a particular set of inspirations and references, but somehow, that place in time still colours everything we do. It's that place of honesty, that first step that we took as a brand. No matter where we're going, this is where we're coming from.
As the Fall/Winter 2020 menswear collection launched in late August, and the womenswear collection is well on its way, how would you describe your experience working on new projects during such turbulent times? Have you faced any limitations this season?
This season felt so strange. This whole year feels so strange. Somehow, designing both collections gave a sense of calm and ease; bunkering up in the studio amidst the world collapsing provided a safe space. Working with your own two hands grounds you in the now.
Both women and men present Misbhv’s collections separately, yet the brand still offers an interchangeable feeling regardless of gender. How do you manage to differentiate collections between womenswear and menswear while maintaining the brand’s identity?
We’re so glad you are seeing this connection. We would like to think that both of these voices come from the same sincere place of honesty within ourselves. Both of these stories open with the same questions, the same position of inquiry. But yeah, the idea of interchangeability was there right from the beginning. We technically do menswear and womenswear, but at the end of the day, it’s just an exercise in translating the same core ideas into different mediums, silhouettes and fabrications.
Given the current situation we are facing on a global scale, how do you think the fashion and music industries can authentically reflect the times we are currently living in?
They always did and they always will. Art remains in a constant conversation with reality. Art stems from reality. Artists lend us eyes through which we can view reality.
Amidst all the attention surrounding the brand, your new project Misbhv Recordings was recently launched. Can you tell us the process behind this project and the message you hope to convey through Sonic Sculptures?
Ideally, every new undertaking comes from the same well, which is a place of honesty, that I’ve touched on earlier. Our music will speak of the same emotions as our fashion does: escapism, freedom, rawness, sex. Misbhv Recordings is our label, and Sonic Sculptures is our mix series where we ask friends, from Pandora's Jukebox to Julian Klincewicz, to tell their stories through music.
Let’s talk about MBH001 and its first physical record. How did your team select the artists you collaborated with? What will be the frequency for new releases behind this project?
Team is a big word – we're a bunch of friends hoping to collaborate with more friends on projects we believe in. Helmut and Wolfram are great friends actually, and releasing music together felt intrinsically just right. Our next record will see a release in spring of next year.
When working on Misbhv Recordings, is there an audience in particular that you aim to draw attention to?
We want to make pieces that we want to wear and we want to make music that we want to listen to. I believe that aiming for a particular audience would create constraints; we don’t want to limit ourselves, and that would somehow contradict our philosophy. We're happy to make pieces of clothing we believe in, and happy to make music we believe in. This journey should ideally be the goal in itself.
Do you plan on collaborating with artists from different genres or is this project solely intended for electronic music?
Not the slightest bit! We connect with rawness, imperfections, emotions, whatever weirdness – not genres.
Will Misbhv Recordings merge with the brand’s upcoming collections? Or, are they meant to live as two separate entities?
Actually, yes! We’ve created a Misbhv Recordings capsule collection for Spring 2021. It’s an imaginary wardrobe worn in an imaginary Misbhv Recordings laboratory. There are nice staff jackets, sturdy chore overshirts, a great double-breasted blazer in black poly that comes with perfectly fitted tailored trousers, and more. All of the pieces from this collection come with a special woven tag in black and white.
What can we expect from Misbhv and Misbhv Recordings in a post-pandemic world?
An earthquake of that magnitude naturally pushes you to reevaluate your life, your fashion and music. We took a critical look at our sustainability efforts and did a crazy amount of work the last few months to introduce 100% recyclable packaging made of consumer waste, eco bags made of recycled plastic bottles, organic cotton – we are entirely pushing recycling more and more. It’s a difficult time, especially for small, independent brands like ours. Today, we just hope to be able to continue the work, to continue telling interesting stories, whatever they might be.
