MISBHV

MISBHV, pronounced “misbehave,” is a Polish streetwear and fashion label founded in 2014 by Natalia Maczek in Kraków. The brand developed from an informal project rooted in Poland’s club and techno-punk scenes rather than from a traditional fashion-house structure. Maczek, who had studied law at Jagiellonian University, became interested in clothing during periods spent in London. After returning to Poland, she began producing unofficial designer-inspired T-shirts with her partner, DJ Tomek Wirski, initially making garments for friends attending clubs. That early do-it-yourself practice became the foundation of MISBHV’s later identity: graphic, confrontational, music-oriented, and closely connected to underground nightlife. The label’s visual language combines several overlapping references. Its work draws on hip-hop, rave and club culture, memories of growing up in post-socialist Poland, 1990s disco, motorcycling, European youth culture, and the rawness of customized or improvised clothing. Music has remained central to its creative work, both as a source of imagery and as a social context for the brand. The name itself was inspired by a record store Maczek visited as a teenager. Rather than presenting a narrowly Polish folk aesthetic, MISBHV has used Polish history and cultural memory as one element within a wider international streetwear vocabulary. MISBHV’s early commercial breakthrough came through specialist fashion retailers and showrooms. In January 2015, Maczek and Wirski presented their first fashion show in a small Paris showroom. Early buyers reportedly included MARGIELA, GR8, Antonioli and Browns. Later in 2015, the label appeared during New York Fashion Week with a Spring/Summer 2017 collection influenced by David Bowie. The collection used references to Bowie’s 1970s music across products including T-shirts and leather jackets. In the same year, Rihanna wore a black MISBHV jacket during a performance in London, giving the relatively young Polish label wider popular visibility. The brand subsequently developed a more explicitly Polish cultural perspective. Its “Polish Jazz” runway presentation introduced the Spring/Summer 2019 collection at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science. The show referenced Polish poster design from the 1960s and included a collaboration with Polish artist Rosław Szaybo. This presentation helped position MISBHV between international fashion spectacle and a distinctly local cultural frame. MISBHV’s range has included graphic T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, leather pieces, bags and other ready-to-wear and accessory items. Its products are typically characterized by bold prints, logo treatments, archival or subcultural references, and a mixture of streetwear construction with more fashion-led silhouettes. The brand has also used recognizable imagery and cultural quotations as part of its design strategy, which has at times generated copyright disputes. The label is headquartered in a studio in Kraków’s Zabłocie district, in a former Telpod cable-factory complex. Its distribution has expanded beyond Poland, with the Wikipedia reference describing approximately 90 retailers worldwide. MISBHV also achieved visibility outside conventional fashion channels: in 2020 it became the first fashion label featured in the Grand Theft Auto video-game franchise, and it was included in a long fashion presentation at Paris’s Pavillon des Drapiers. MISBHV is therefore best understood as an internationally distributed Polish streetwear brand whose identity is shaped by music, youth subcultures, graphic experimentation, and a deliberately irreverent relationship with mainstream fashion.

MISBHV originated in the creative and nightlife environment surrounding Poland’s club and techno-punk scenes. Natalia Maczek studied law at Jagiellonian University in Kraków and encountered fashion more directly while spending time in London. After returning to Poland, she and DJ Tomek Wirski began making unofficial designer-inspired T-shirts for friends. The project was initially informal and socially embedded in club culture, but it gradually developed into a commercial label. The brand was established in 2014. Its name, pronounced “misbehave,” was inspired by a record store Maczek had visited when she was eighteen. From the beginning, music, nightlife and youth subculture were not merely marketing themes but part of the label’s working environment. MISBHV’s visual identity combined a do-it-yourself attitude with references to hip-hop, rave culture, European club life, 1990s disco and the rough style associated with motorcyclists. The founders also drew on memories of post-socialist Poland, creating a perspective that was local in origin but designed for an international fashion audience. In January 2015, Maczek and Wirski held their first fashion presentation in a small Paris showroom. Early customers and stockists reportedly included MARGIELA, GR8, Antonioli and Browns. Later that year, MISBHV was included in New York Fashion Week and presented a Spring/Summer 2017 collection inspired by David Bowie. Bowie’s influence appeared through quotations from his 1970s songs placed across garments such as T-shirts and leather jackets. The same year, Rihanna wore a black MISBHV jacket at a London performance, helping the label reach audiences beyond the specialist streetwear market. MISBHV expanded its cultural vocabulary through its first runway presentation, “Polish Jazz,” which introduced the Spring/Summer 2019 collection at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science. The presentation looked to Poland’s 1960s poster tradition and involved Polish artist Rosław Szaybo. This moment connected the brand’s international streetwear language with a more explicit engagement with Polish graphic and cultural history. The label’s design practice has drawn on diverse artistic sources. Its camouflage has been associated with the early work of Jean Arp, its prints with Andy Warhol, and its color choices with Paul Cézanne. These references were combined with the brand’s continuing interest in music and underground culture. The resulting collections included graphic T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, leather jackets, other outerwear and broader ready-to-wear lines. MISBHV also became known for using recognizable imagery and cultural material in its graphics. That approach resulted in several copyright controversies. In 2018, a dispute concerned imagery connected with Sleep Chamber’s “Submit to Desire” album cover. In 2019, another complaint involved the cover of Whitesnake’s “Lovehunter.” In 2020, a photographer using the name Hqeivy alleged that one of his photographs had been used without permission in a MISBHV print. A logo resembling the Apex Twin mark was also reported on one of the label’s T-shirts. Alongside these controversies, the brand continued to increase its visibility through cross-media exposure. In 2020, MISBHV was described as the first fashion label featured in Grand Theft Auto. It was also included in a long fashion presentation at the Pavillon des Drapiers in Paris. The company remains based in Kraków’s Zabłocie district, in a former Telpod cable-factory complex, and has developed a worldwide retail network reported at approximately 90 retailers. Its history reflects the movement of a small, music-centered Polish DIY project into internationally recognized streetwear and fashion distribution.

• 2020

  Grand Theft Auto feature

  [1]MISBHVen.wikipedia.org

  MISBHV is featured in the Grand Theft Auto video-game franchise.

• 2017

  “Polish Jazz” runway presentation

  [1]MISBHVen.wikipedia.org

  The label presents its Spring/Summer 2019 collection in Warsaw, referencing 1960s Polish poster art and working with Rosław Szaybo.

• 2015

  First Paris fashion presentation

  [1]MISBHVen.wikipedia.org

  The founders present MISBHV in a small Paris showroom and begin attracting specialist international buyers.

• 2015

  New York Fashion Week appearance

  [1]MISBHVen.wikipedia.org

  MISBHV presents its Spring/Summer 2017 collection with a David Bowie-inspired concept.

• 2015

  Rihanna wears MISBHV

  [1]MISBHVen.wikipedia.org

  Rihanna wears a black MISBHV jacket during a London performance.

• 2014

  MISBHV is established

  [1]MISBHVen.wikipedia.org

  Natalia Maczek and Tomek Wirski develop MISBHV from an informal project making graphic, designer-inspired T-shirts for friends in Poland’s club scene.

An internationally distributed Polish streetwear label positioned at the intersection of club culture, music, underground fashion, graphic design and post-socialist cultural memory.

• Streetwear tops

  Graphic T-shirts

  Graphic T-shirts are a central part of MISBHV’s product language. Designs have used music references, club-culture imagery, bold typography, photographic prints and other recognizable visual material. They reflect the label’s origins in informal T-shirt production for friends and remain one of its clearest ways of connecting fashion with subculture.

• Streetwear tops

  Sweatshirts and hoodies

  MISBHV sweatshirts and hoodies extend the brand’s graphic streetwear approach into heavier casual garments. The category has included prominent prints and imagery associated with music, nightlife and the label’s provocative visual style. Some designs have also been involved in the copyright disputes reported about the brand.

• Outerwear

  Leather jackets and outerwear

  Leather jackets and other outerwear form a more fashion-led part of the MISBHV assortment. The brand’s outerwear combines streetwear references with the raw, motorcycling-influenced attitude associated with its broader aesthetic. A black MISBHV jacket worn by Rihanna in 2015 became one of the label’s most visible celebrity-worn pieces.

• Accessories

  Bags

  MISBHV bags apply the label’s graphic and subcultural design language to accessories. The “Motel Mirage” line became particularly notable because imagery associated with its bags and sweatshirts was involved in a reported copyright dispute concerning the cover art of a Sleep Chamber album.

• 2020

  Photographer’s unauthorized-use claim

  A photographer using the pseudonym Hqeivy alleged that MISBHV used a photograph of a girl’s face as a print without permission.

  Source

• 2020

  Apex Twin-like logo controversy

  Attention was drawn to a MISBHV T-shirt bearing a logo reported to resemble the mark associated with Apex Twin.

  Source

• 2019

  Whitesnake “Lovehunter” artwork dispute

  A subsequent complaint alleged that artwork from Whitesnake’s 1979 album “Lovehunter” appeared on MISBHV T-shirts.

  Source

• 2018

  Sleep Chamber album-art copyright dispute

  MISBHV faced a copyright infringement claim concerning artwork used on products associated with the “Motel Mirage” line and linked to Sleep Chamber’s 1985 album “Submit to Desire.”

  Source

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• 2020Grand Theft Auto integration

  International

  MISBHV was featured in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, bringing the label into a major interactive entertainment environment.

  Outcome. The feature extended the brand’s cultural reach beyond fashion retail and runway media.

  Source
• 2017Polish Jazz

  Poland · International

  The runway presentation for Spring/Summer 2019 took place at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science and drew on 1960s Polish poster art, with a collaboration involving artist Rosław Szaybo.

  Outcome. The presentation emphasized MISBHV’s Polish cultural roots while maintaining its international fashion positioning.

  Source
• 2015David Bowie-inspired Spring/Summer 2017 collection

  International

  Presented during New York Fashion Week, the collection used David Bowie’s 1970s music and associated quotations across garments including T-shirts and leather jackets.

  Outcome. The presentation increased MISBHV’s visibility in the international fashion circuit.

  Source

• 2017

  Launch of the Polish Jazz collectionProduct launch

  Background

  The brand sought to connect its international streetwear identity with Polish graphic and cultural history.

  Action taken

  MISBHV presented its Spring/Summer 2019 collection at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science, referencing 1960s Polish poster art and collaborating with Rosław Szaybo.

  Aftermath

  The runway presentation became a prominent expression of the label’s Polish cultural positioning.

  Source

• 2015

  Move from DIY club project into international fashion retailStrategy

  Background

  MISBHV began as an informal project making T-shirts for friends in Poland’s nightlife community.

  Action taken

  Maczek and Wirski presented the label in Paris and pursued specialist international retailers and fashion-week exposure.

  Aftermath

  The label developed from a local subcultural project into a brand sold through an international retailer network.

  Source

1. 1MISBHVen.wikipedia.org