Mainline:RUS/Fr.CA/DE, led by London-based designers Zarina Bekerova and Alexandra Vincent, was created back in 2019. While the brand name reflects the national roots of the founding trio, symbolising a blend of Russian, French Canadian and German influences, the brand and collective transcends any single nation, having a universal appeal and celebrating its borderless character that resonates with a global and diverse audience.
Correspondingly, their clothes are a testament to this philosophy, embodying fluidity and versatility, serving multiple purposes in a single day and becoming a synonym for the seamless fusion of sexiness and comfort. This unique approach has garnered them a loyal following and community and has established their reputation as a forward-thinking and inclusive fashion brand.
Their latest Spring/Summer 2025 collection, explores the theme of money (or lack thereof) and glamour. This collection was unveiled at their first physical showcase, an intimate event for friends and collaborators at twos, London. The designs cater to their ever-busy, on-the-go muse, envisioning what they would wear in their chaotic everyday life. The garments are both baggy and alluringly form-fitting, showing flashes of skin here and there, crafted from soft, comfortable materials. The clutch bags are bulky but functional, and the belts have shiny and bright sequins. The collection's symbol, a hybrid coin combining a pound, euro, and dollar, appears bluntly in a backless oversized shirt, making the theme unmistakable.
Having just celebrated their 5th anniversary, Bekerova and Vincent share insights into their first in-person showcase, the identity and philosophy behind their brand, their influences and collaborators, and the evolution of their core themes of fluidity and sustainability alongside their community, pushing the boundaries to become an influential collective in the fashion industry.
You talk about being a nationless brand, however your origins are very present in the brand's name. How do you toe the line between feeling kinship towards where you come from and being shoehorned into particular categories because of it?
Mainline started as a collective of three people from three different countries and very different backgrounds. It was very personal for us to make sure our origin countries are mentioned in the brand's name but at the same time naming the country codes in the label’s name makes it non-bounded to any specific place. Also, as we are not the face of our brand, it was a way for us to show in a literal way where we come from and who we are. Our brand identity does not gather any inspiration from specific countries, that’s why we identify it as nationless.
What makes your brand not only a brand but also a collective?
Originally we started the brand as three friends and collaborators with a similar vision. It was always crucial to us to keep it that way, to have less ego and personalisation, and more of a blend of different people’s ideas mixed together. We try to keep it that way by constantly collaborating with different artists and creators. That’s what makes Mainline different.
One of your non-official mottos at the beginning was "made to be tight". Is it still the same after the pandemic? What has changed and how has this affected your insights about comfort?
The “made to be tight” motto was born from our first collection SS20, where most pieces were made out of this old-school stretchy tailoring fabric, mainly used in the 80s. This fabric was made specifically for business travellers, staying comfortable and avoiding the fabric leaving crease marks after a long flight. As the initial idea was to recreate these businessy on-the-go looks, but adding some revealing elements, it seemed like the perfect fit. This concept carried onto the next collections, although the pandemic has definitely influenced our vision on the theme. We then became more interested in the working-from-home concept and envisioned what Mainline would look like in this case, reworking sweatpants and cozy jersey tops, using natural materials rather than synthetics. One of the main misconceptions is that fashion can’t be comfortable, or sexy and comfortable, and we want to go against this.
A very diverse crowd are drawn to your creations and brand, from gorp-core bro types who value your clothes for their utility or more fashion-oriented avant-garde types that embrace and live out your central core themes (of juxtaposing sexiness and comfort). Do you feel a sense of community with all of them despite their philosophy towards your clothes being very scattered?
One of our most favourite categories are Mainline couples. An individual who prefers a sexy wrapped around the body pleated Mainline look and their other half in a more utilitarian technical puffer and heavy denim panelled trousers. It is nice to see them wearing it together representing the brand from both angles. We love how broad our customers range and backgrounds are, and it’s always fun to go through the pictures people tag us on worldwide wearing garments we created in their own special way.
You speak about sexiness and comfort being major central points to all your creations, what materials and fabrics work best for you? Do you have other considerations when choosing the materials such as availability or ecological impact?
Jersey has always been the best material for us to work with as it just creates that comfy sexy look naturally. It also allows more of a variation of different body types to wear the same styles and make people feel themselves, whilst still being comfortable. Sustainability was always a big consideration for us when choosing materials we use and where we produce. The Mainline team sources deadstock fabrics for collection developments and production. We started with a recycled leather line during our AW20 collection, repurposing and reusing old leather sofas and creating new pieces out of it. We did a performance in Voo Store in Berlin during Gallery Weekend about animal cruelty. There is so much leather already existing that could be reused.
Versatility is also important for you. What kind of scenarios do you want people to wear and enjoy your clothes?
Mainline:RUS/Fr.CA/DE is a day to night look. You can be in the office, uni, or studio all day and then go straight to the party without feeling too overdressed or out of place. Most of our pieces also allow people to style them in different ways, with excess cords hanging, or mismatched buttons, the asymmetrical nature of them lets our customers adjust it to their own body.
The latest collection explores the theme of glam on a budget, incorporating coin motifs and sultry smokey makeup. What inspired this concept?
With the current economy, it has been very difficult to stay on top of things, and this is something we wanted to be transparent about. To play with it instead of letting it go against us. There’s so much happening in the world right now, more important than fashion. The coin itself was also a representation of the cross-cultural nature of the brand, blending different currencies linking up to us being both international and nationless at once. At the end of the day, money doesn’t mean anything, and it’s always in moments of financial distress that the best unplanned outcomes resurface.
You decided against a major runway fashion show and instead chose a more intimate show curated for and by your community at twos, London, what influenced this decision and why did you feel you were prepared for it this year and not before or after?
Spring/Summer 2025 marked Mainline’s fifth year and it was very important for us to do a physical event, especially after years of showcasing online only. The sense of community we created is a lot more exciting to us than a big industry runway show. We want to make sure that we include everyone in our circle, friends, supporters, customers, and industry people as a plus. Twos felt like a very natural choice, as we spent a lot of our time in that space being besties with Josh, the owner. He created such a beautiful space to showcase all the unique garments he sells. It just made total sense to do it inside and outside of twos with a view of the city, the balcony resembling a catwalk, and the fact that it is a clothing store that is well-known and loved in our circle.
Sculpture, makeup, film and performance have become important to your previous projects, bringing names like Lynski, Elza Ozolite, Aidan Duffy or Shaye Gregan to create a marriage of different creative sides to fashion. How do these collaborations come up? Do you already know them, having worked with them, or do you approach people when their work stands out to you?
Naturally, we always tend to collaborate with our friends as it comes very organically, bouncing ideas back and forth in a casual setting. Most of our favourite collections and projects came from that. We of course also get out of our comfort zone and work with other creatives whose work we love and admire, although sadly usually these people are not based in London, which can create a collaborative delay. In the end, it has always been worth it to push the boundaries and try something new and unknown.
What direction do you see yourself going towards? In other words, what is in and out for Mainline:RUS/Fr.CA/DE this 2025?
A healthier mind and working environment is key for 2025.
Our ins would definitely be self-care and finding the balance between production and new seasons, and outs would be not to put too much pressure on ourselves and try to compete with much bigger brands who have access to unlimited resources. At the end of the day it’s just clothes, but we do love clothes!