EVER since the internet has been allowed to comment on pretty much everything, the controversial question of whether art can, or should, be separated from the artist has remained a heated discussion. But for Chinese-Burmese designer Erica Myat, the two are inseparable. Her work, she tells me, “will always be an internal exploration” of herself.
On the Sunday before her second show, I sit in Myat’s studio overlooking London’s ever-developing King’s Cross. Around us, the collection is slowly coming together. Garments, textiles and ideas are beginning to form a world that feels both intensely personal and deliberately composed. Myat, who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2024, is preparing to present her second collection, the same river twice.
MYAT SS27. Photographs: Iris Seo
Her debut was a striking introduction. The show enchanted its audience through performance, creating what Myat describes as “a very raw start to the brand”. Vulnerability, she explains, has always been something she has explored, even during university. The collection was about “this girl in between”. A woman caught somewhere between identities, versions of herself and the person she might eventually become.
I remember Myat from her debut, briefly taking a bow at the back of the catwalk. Shy and almost retreating from the attention that surrounded her work. There has clearly been a change in her now, but it has sharpened. She seems clearer about what she wants. Her words are more deliberate, and she appears less interested in the noise surrounding fashion, and more integrated by who it creates.
“The woman I’m looking for now isn’t asking for attention,” she tells me. “She’s not as rebellious and glamorous, and somehow more polished.”
MYAT SS27. Photograph: Iris Seo
It is a distinction that can be felt in the clothes. Where the first collection explored vulnerability and uncertainty, the same river twice considers what happens afterwards, when a girl is not worried about being seen. It is not necessarily about becoming a completely different person but becoming more conscious of the person you are already becoming. Billowing mini dresses, delicate embellishment and carefully constructed textiles create a sensual woman without appearing to demand that she be looked at.
One of her greatest influences is Joan Didion, and it is easy to understand why. Didion’s style was often deceptively simple. A white shirt, dark glasses and a cigarette in hand could become an image of confidence, coolness and self-possession. Myat is particularly drawn to this very image of the American writer, recognising how clothing and gesture can create an entire character.
But Myat does not simply reproduce the Didion aesthetic. Like Didion herself, who is often reduced to a reference, she is interested in the intellectual and psychological weight behind these moments. What does it mean to dress like a certain version of yourself? More importantly, can dressing like that person make you feel like them?
MYAT SS27. Photograph: Iris Seo
That idea is visible in the construction of the collection. Modernity, femininity and an unmistakable sense of sexuality run through the garments, but nothing feels effortless in its making. Pieces that appear delicate and spontaneous often conceal hours of labour.
Netting, for example, is woven through an intensive process in which lines are repeatedly sewn with silver and gold-metallic thread. The fabric is then rinsed to remove its dissolvable backing, leaving behind delicate draping netting. What appears almost weightless on the body is the result of an extraordinarily laborious process.
The same can be said of Myat’s ruffling, now becoming something of a signature. Layer upon layer is sewn and manipulated, creating movement and texture that give the garments their distinctive softness. Something is fitting about this contrast. Clothes that look effortless require enormous amounts of control.
This year, Myat’s relationship with her heritage has also become more prominent. A visit to China prompted a deeper exploration of the references that had already begun appearing in her previous collection. Her Chinese-Burmese identity is not treated as a decorative afterthought but as something she continues to investigate through the process of making.
MYAT SS27. Photograph: Iris Seo
Where Burmese facial tattoo references could previously be found subtly embedded within the work, Chinese embroidery now takes centre stage. Suzhou embroidery, a traditional technique in which silk threads are intricately stitched to create images almost as though they have been painted, becomes another way for Myat to translate cultural memory into contemporary clothing.
Returning to the brand is one of Myat’s most recognisable signatures. The mini skirt. Some might argue that they are micro. Myat disagrees.
“I don’t even think they are that short,” she laughs, pulling out a silky blush-pink skirt to show me. She compares its length to my own, decidedly not interview-appropriate striped mini dress. “It’s about the same as yours.”
“I love them,” she continues. “Short skirts are beautiful on everybody.” There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about the certainty of this statement. The mini skirt is not presented as provocation. It is simply beautiful. Legs, skin and femininity do not need to be justified.
MYAT SS27. Photographs: Iris Seo
In the performance, this attitude becomes physical. Models move through the space rather than simply down a runway. A couple balances on seesaws as if they were balancing their choices. Overall, there is a slight sultriness to the presentation, reminiscent of the natural coolness Myat finds in Didion, but it never feels overly copied. A slow-moving performance, as guests are invited to sit on the bench, creating an interactive environment that asks the audience to stay. It resists the instantaneous consumption of fashion. The quick photograph, the Instagram story and the scroll to the next image. Instead, the clothes are given time to exist in front of you.
Maybe the MYAT girl is not a fixed archetype. She is not simply the girl in the mini skirt, the girl with the cigarette or the girl who looks effortlessly cool walking through London. She is the girl somewhere between those things. Still figuring herself out but increasingly conscious of the woman she wants to become. As Myat herself poses, “The conversation between who you are now versus the person you want to be.”
When viewing this collection, I think you should consider one thing. Do you want to be a MYAT girl?
by Ellis Dowle