MISBHV (Q8786)

Natalia Maczek and Thomas Wirski’s Warsaw-based brand, MISBHV, has grown 50 percent in terms of sales over the past six months—and added over 100 percent more SKUs. That’s a substantial lift, and proof in the spreadsheet that their distinct, proudly national take on clubwear—now palpably elevated—has an expanding audience.For Spring, which was actually shown in Warsaw two weeks ago at the city’s accepted-or-isn’t-it Palace of Culture and Science (the site is controversial—it was a gift from Stalin), the pair considered the Polish School of Posters. This entity emerged out of the post–World War II landscape, when “fences around building sites became the new galleries,” said Wirski. With Polish identity politics formulating through the second half of the 20th century, and, to an extent, to this day, the outcome was a lineup that bridged decades of references, all with a deep sense of pride and progressivism. “We are so loud with our DNA because we really want to help build a different consciousness around our Polish identity,” said Maczek.MISBHV thus collaborated with Rosław Szaybo, a Polish artist and graphic designer. He recreated his famous Judas Priest album cover of a hand holding an enlarged razor blade, only now written over with the brand name. It looked coolly edgy, literally, when applied to a floor-grazing cape. Other noteworthy pieces included a teal, ‘80s-style suit (yet another example of hip, deformalized tailoring), acid-colored patent leather jackets, and a recurring text logo that readPolish Jazz(also laid out by Szaybo). And, on top of the brief, fascinating flashes of history that Maczek and Wirski provided, the important product note here was that their brand appears to have graduated from the ubiquitous pool of streetwear/merch properties into something markedly more evaluated—and executed.