MISBHV (pronounced "misbehave") is a Polish

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk fashion, punk, Skateboarding#Culture, skateboarding, 1980s no ...

label established by Natalia Maczek in 2014. It is based in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and has around 90 retailers worldwide.

Background and history

In 2008, Natalia Maczek was studying law at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. Maczek discovered fashion during a stay in London where she worked a few summer jobs. Back in Poland, she launched a side project along with her partner Tomek Wirski, a DJ. The two started making fake designer t-shirts for their friends to wear at clubs. In January 2015, Maczek and Wirski gave their first fashion show at a tiny showroom in Paris. Some of their first customers were MARGIELA, GR8,

Antonioli Antonioli is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Claudio Antonioli (born 1962), retired Italian racing driver * Dan Antonioli (born 1960), builder and owner of two evolving intentional communities * Fausto Antonioli (181 ...

and BROWNS. Later that year, MISBHV was included in

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

, where it debuted its Spring/Summer 2017 collection, inspired by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

who had died earlier that year, with quotes from his 70s songs scattered across many products from t-shirts to leather jackets. In the same year,

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

wore a Matrix-black MISBHV jacket during a performance in London. MISBHV put together its first runway presentation, "Polish Jazz", at Warsaw's

Palace of Culture and Science The Palace of Culture and Science (; abbreviated ''PKiN'') is a notable high-rise building in central Warsaw, Poland. With a total height of , it is the second tallest building in both Warsaw and Poland (after the Varso Tower), the sixth talle ...

to debut its Spring/Summer 2019 collection. For the show, Maczek and Wirski paid tribute to Poland, referencing 1966 Warsaw poster art and collaborating with Polish artist Roslaw Szaybo. The name "MISBHV" is inspired by a record store Maczek used to visit when she was eighteen. The brand has its headquarters in a studio in Kraków's Zabłocie district, in the former "Telpod" cable factory.

Influences

Emerging from Warsaw’s

techno-punk Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

scene, Maczek and Thomas are always interested in exploring the intersection of fashion and the underground, with music playing a key role in every creative endeavor. The brand's aesthetic is rooted in the hip-hop and club scenes of post-socialist Poland, and infused with a DIY sensibility The duo cite a uniquely European perspective on rave and club culture, memories of their youth in post-socialist Poland, the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

trend of the 1990s and the raw style of motorcyclists as their most significant influences. The duo are inspired by multiple artists including the early works of

Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...

when creating their signature camouflage,

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

when working on prints, and the color palette of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

Pop culture

In 2020, MISBHV was the first fashion label featured on

Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is prima ...

. The same year MISBHV was feature in the long fashion story of the Pavillon des Drapiers / Showroom Paris, a fashion landmark in Paris .MISBHV part of a long Paris fashion story of the Pavillon des Drapiers
/ref>

Copyright infringement

In 2018, the brand faced its first case of copyright infringement involving the 'Motel Mirage' bag, which featured sweatshirts and bags depicting couples engaged in sexual activities. The notable infringement was the use of the cover art from the American band Sleep Chamber's 1985 album "Submit to Desire" from 1985. A year later, the exact same thing happens. Another cover of an old album lands on MISBHV T-shirts
This time it's about "Lovehunter" by Whitesnake from 1979
In October 2020, yet another copyright claim emerged against MISBHV. A photographer residing in Shanghai, using the pseudony
Hqeivy
discovered that the company unlawfully utilized his photograph of a girl's face, taken four years prior, as one of their prints. Further attention was drawn to the brand when a logo resembling that of Apex Twin was found on one of their t-shirt

References

{{Reflist Clothing companies established in 2014 Street fashion Clothing companies of Poland 2014 establishments in Poland Companies based in Kraków