Dallas native wins top prize at prestigious London fashion show

LONDON — Inside Myah Hasbany’s flat in the brutalist Barbican building hang racks heaving with the 23-year-old’s surreal, sculptural designs.

Knit hats resembling mutant bunnies adorn the coffee table, while a giant bulbous piece with balloons crafted of latex, tulle and feathers takes up the designer’s double bed. Other looks by Hasbany have been called out by stylists for a magazine shoot.

Hasbany, a Dallas native who uses they/them pronouns, is basking in the glow of nabbing top prize at June’s BA Fashion show at Central Saint Martins, the London art college from which they recently graduated. As the school brought the fashion world John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Zac Posen (among others), this award was no small feat. Especially since Hasbany had zero idea they would win.

“I was exhausted, and I was like, ‘Let’s go, let’s get everyone undressed. I’ve gotta get home,’” says the designer, who spent seven months working from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. to create their handmade pieces. “They said, ‘No, you’ve got to stay,’ so I figured I’d get third runner-up, and I’m cool with that. I wasn’t gunning for it; I just wanted to do my best. So when I did win, I was like, ‘OK, that’s insane!’”

It’s easy to see why Hasbany’s work stood out, as they eschew traditional silhouettes to create their pieces. From the start, they focused on transcending size, designing oversized shapes that build another body on top of one’s own like a Matryoshka stacking doll, a concept they began to explore when interning at Maison Margiela last year.

“They did prosthetic body parts to make some of the pieces, and I thought that’s really smart because it goes beyond padding,” they explain. “Being nonbinary and having gender dysphoria, it’s nice to explore the body away from my own body and illustrate that to other people. We can all kind of relate to feeling awkward and being uncomfortable in ourselves sometimes.”

Hasbany has been exploring that idea since their earliest designs for R&B icon Erykah Badu when they were still a Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts student. Initially studying visual art, they got into fashion as a sophomore and crocheted two forms for themself and a friend to wear to prom. Hearing that Badu was holding auditions for dancers, Hasbany and their friend decided it would be fun to try out wearing the work.

Hasbany recalls, “She saw me as she was walking in, and it was so kismet. We just put some Aphex Twin on and were going to spin around and freestyle, but when the music cut, she was like, ‘No, keep going!’”

The duo ended up with a solo dance in Badu’s birthday show and Hasbany went on to do pieces for the singer, including her “booty suit” for Billboard’s annual Women in Music event this year. Still, those early designs were no guarantee the self-taught Hasbany would make it into their only school of choice. They initially applied, only to be told not to waste their time.

“The CSM representative and teachers were telling me, ‘It’s not worth it, you’re not going to get in,’” says Hasbany. “If you’re the type of person that one person tells you don’t bother, and you’re like ‘OK,’ you’re not going to get anywhere. So much of the industry is people telling you no. If you have the mentality of, ‘F— you, I’m going to do that,’ then it actually does benefit you.”

Accepted for an initial “foundation” year, Hasbany was rejected from continuing in one of four open spots in the course. But when a student dropped out, Hasbany seized their chance. Gleaning tailoring tips from fellow students, they filled sketchbook after sketchbook with ideas, focusing on knitwear. “I’m a highly anxious person,” they say, “so having the ability to work with my hands and be productive was really good.”

Having thought about their winning collection since they were 14, Hasbany explored a concept based on Queer Time Theory. Without traditional markers such as getting married and having children, many queer lives are marked by nonlinear experience. Into the blender went the supposed 1897 UFO crash in Aurora, Texas, the 2009 balloon boy hoax and the feeling of living in Texas as an outsider.

Hasbany also incorporated references from the 1950s, which they say people mistakenly see “as this perfect pristine time.” The references included the dreamy skirts and jackets in pastels and grayscale that recall Christian Dior’s New Look. After winning the award, Hasbany heard from the House of Dior, which offered them a job under the visionary creative director Jonathan Anderson.

As Hasbany pondered the pros and cons of launching their own line versus joining an established house, they ultimately chose to accept the offer to be a junior couture designer in Paris.

“Quite honestly, I never thought I’d be offered a position like this; it’s really surprising to me,” they say. “But obviously, it’s an insane offer and a really exciting time to start. I want to take the time now to learn as much as I can, meet as many people as I can, and also develop as a person. I’m in it for the long game.”

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