It s quite unusual to stumble onto a designer like Myrza de Muynck these days. For one thing, the Dutch up-and-comer, who is based in East London, has a genuinely artisanal sensibility; her clothes are all handworked with surreal embroideries that she applies herself. They are calculated to look naive. De Muynck also stands out for her take on the feminine; although she incorporates elements such as ballerina tulle and 1920s-era drop waists, her work consistently subverts conventional categories of female glamour, sexiness, and cool. There s an innocence to de Muynck s designs, but her woman is not an ingenue. Her preferred outfit is a tracksuit.
This collection was a typically sui generis outing for the designer, who debuted her line two years ago. Its key motif was the patch—pieces of fabric with pearl- or seed-beaded evil-eye embroideries, which had been sewn onto garments with a purposefully amateur stitch. Other looks included silk-screened pieces made from towel cotton, and track pants with de Muynck s signature drop-waist banding, and tulle tops with knit sleeves. This was a small collection, but it had a lot of range, and the details were very compelling. The qualm had to do with de Muynck s skirt and dress silhouettes, which could have been a bit more refined, without sacrificing the aesthetic. More generally, it would have been nice to see a few of de Muynck s savvy adaptations of the shell suit, which have been a highlight of previous collections. Really, though, the overarching impression was a designer creating something unique, with limited means. That kind of effort deserves not only praise but industry support.
