MYL wants to get involved with the really big ones – and this season it’s the only Berlin label that has made it to London. It didn’t have to leave the city for that.
At the MYL Berlin show this weekend: The event was streamed live as part of London Fashion Week. After the show, three models pose again in front of the photo screen.OZ JOHN
It’s a Berlin fashion show. You notice that immediately. Techno is running, a model with shiny leather-look shorts and fishnet tights comes in: instead of walking rigidly, she dances down the catwalk in expressive movements. When the woman is almost out the door again, she climbs up one of the scaffolding for the light installations and suddenly hangs over the heads of the audience.
The key guest is the camera that streams this show live to the UK. MYL Berlin has made it onto the London Fashion Week calendar – and wants to establish itself there as a permanent fixture. The label was only founded in Berlin in 2018.
Since then, designer Sebastian SK has been designing unisex fashion; the looks range from minimalist pieces with decorative elements to classic clubwear inspired by the Berlin techno scene. Last season, MYL was still part of Berlin Fashion Week, but the label wants to make a name for itself on an international level. “We applied several times for London, this year it finally worked out,” says Sebastian SK.
Goes surprisingly well together: elegant body and hair accessories have been combined with the industrial-look overalls.Stefan Hesch
By the way, MYL is pronounced like “garbage”: the name was deliberately chosen to be provocative. Looks that don’t conform to the norm are often looked down on by society, and MYL sees itself as a platform for everyone who doesn’t want to conform to social conventions, the designer explained in an interview with Berlin Fashion Week a few months ago. In his own circle he had seen friends being called “garbage” and he wanted to repurpose the term and depict it with his clothes as something positive and beautiful.
Models of all shapes and sizes walked the catwalk for MYL. This should also correspond to the diversity of Berlin.Stefan Hesch
Unisex and diverse: This is also in demand in London
The brand wants to stand for “equality and diversity”, for equal treatment and diversity, and embodies these motifs on several levels – both with the clothing and with the selection of the models. According to Sebastian SK, this is currently in high demand internationally and was possibly also a reason for the acceptance from London: The Berlin brand wants to bring a breath of fresh air to the London Fashion Week, and it doesn’t lose its Berlin flair in the process. On the contrary. The collection authentically represents the look of the capital.
Mesh and leather are trademarks of the Berlin techno scene; the eye-catching gloves are also an eye-catcher.Stefan Hesch
Based on the recently deceased Paco Rabanne: The dress was assembled from small silver plates.Stefan Hesch
Because London Fashion Week is a curated event, it was more difficult than in Berlin to be accepted by the British Fashion Council, explains Sebastian SK. The selection was made by renowned fashion professors in London. The young brand is all the more pleased that it finally worked out. “If we had more money, we would definitely have come,” says the designer; instead, the label opted to broadcast live to London. All the more practical for Berlin’s fashion clientele, who were able to take part in the show in the auditorium on Friedrichstrasse on Friday evening.
Alongside Paris, Milan and New York, London is one of the “Big Four”, i.e. the most important locations for the fashion industry. At the Fashion Week there, greats like Burberry or Alexa Chung present their latest creations; this season, the entire event is also dedicated to the recently deceased fashion icon Vivienne Westwood.
Sebastian SK gets the applause: both the audience and the designer seem happy. ifbbw Institute for Image Movement GmbH & Co. KG
The designer, who is considered a pioneer of punk, passed away this summer. Westwood was known for using fashion as a provocation and political issue – Sebastian SK shares this ambition with her. His fashion show ended just as unconventionally as it began: After the runway, all the models posed together on the grandstand above the catwalk – true to the motto: look here, London, this is Berlin.