“Who are you when no one is watching?” asked Erica Myat during the debut of her eponymous label, MYAT. The Burmese designer, who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2024, showed her AW26 collection, entitled ‘Antechamber’, during a runway-cum-performance on a cold February evening. As the guests entered the dimly-lit, haze-filled warehouse, they were greeted by a large sugar glass cube containing a model in a white gown and a matching blindfold. The figure, who at first only observed the show from the ground, gradually stood up to ultimately smash through the glass and walk the runway for the finale, a symbol of transformation and release.
Highlighting a tension between romantic and provocative silhouettes, heavy woollen coats and revealing, translucent tops intermingling, MYAT maintained a restrained colour palette oscillating between various shades of black and white. After all, girlhood is a spectrum. Mixing demi-couture craftsmanship with the commercial appeal of ready-to-wear, MYAT elevated chiffon and polyester by focusing on fabric manipulation, experimenting with rich textures created through distressing and repair.
From a purely aesthetic perspective, MYAT successfully delivered some showstopping pieces, such as a statement black feather headpiece styled with only a thong, a grey capelet from fabric distressed to resemble feathers, or a semi-sheer ombre slip maxi. Two of the garments from ‘Antechamber’ were immediately snapped up for celebrity red carpets, with Munroe Bergdorf taking the Look 9 distressed black mini dress for a spin at ‘The Bride!’ London premiere, and the Look 15 corseted blue dress appearing on musician Rose Gray for the BRIT Awards just days after LFW concluded.
While it was clear that MYAT took inspiration from McQueen’s ‘Voss’ show, Noctis spoke to visual director Sayna Fardaraghi about her collaboration with MYAT to find out more about the process behind the creation of the ‘Antechamber’ catwalk. Usually a film director, British-Persian Fardaraghi brought her cinematic vision to the runway, connecting with designer Erica Myat over their shared interest in the artistic exploration of femininity.
What was the world you were trying to create for this show?
A space that feels heavy, ethereal, and feminine. Not a soft femininity though, rather versions of it that contain multitudes – including the more feral, dark, violent sides that can come seeping in very often. I’m really interested in that, and the beauty in the darkness as well as the light.
A big part of the worldbuilding was also this glass box, which really became the heart of the show. It was made to signify a breakthrough, a break from a boxed up space that one often creates around themselves in their mind. This collection was really leaning into girls shifting into womanhood – into the messier, more unearthed, undone version of themselves.
In my own experience growing up, I’ve learned that the more you crave it, the more violent, the more feral you feel inside in order to get there. I wanted people to physically feel that restraint, the desire and the need to escape – and how sometimes the exit is just… right there, behind you. All it takes is one smash.
What was it like collaborating with the designer?
Such a fun experience! Erica and I were already friends, and bonded really quickly through our shared interest in certain themes and ways of showcasing femininity, as well as what bridges the gap between girlhood and womanhood. We’d have these very quick working sessions together, flicking through our ideas and bouncing off each other through sketches and narratives that would create multiple layers in the final product.
We both definitely had the same sort of taste level in what we wanted and liked, so everything fell into place really naturally, which made seeing the final show come together all the more satisfying – a real celebration. (Though I must add, us sharing birthdays and the show landing on our birthday made it even more celebratory, a serendipitous moment.)
What was your process and inspiration?
My process was really about understanding Erica’s vision through the collection – the mood, feeling, and tonality she was trying to convey through her pieces, and turning it into a bigger world that people can step into and breathe in. My background is [in] film direction, so I’m constantly weaving narratives into everything I do. I immediately found that I wanted to make this bigger than just a show, I wanted to find intricacies through the models, the show space, the set, and how it could all interact with one another to create a larger performance piece.
In turn, a lot of the visual references I had were installations, films, and art pieces – specifically Doris Salcedo’s Atrabiliarios, Tracey Emin’s My Bed, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Afterimage installation, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Beautifully constructed pieces that also have a darker, at times more violent layer bubbling beneath the surface. I wanted everything to feel like more than just a show, it’s an experience, a performance.
Words: Florentyna Syperek
Photography: Adam Pietraszewski