11811 – A cyberpunk reflection on the clone-making machine

Ewa Bednarska is a young Polish designer whose brand focuses on functionality and quality. Her collections consist of short series in which paintings, drawing and photographs by the creator are incorporated. Bednarska believes in the useful quality of fashion by focusing on simplicity, however, always including a uniqueness to each garment.

Her new 20/21 Fall – Winter collection is based off cyberpunk film “Metropolis” by Fritz Lang (1927). The name, 11811, was coined after one of the characters in the movie, Georgy 11811, a simply boy who is fascinated with life in the Metropolis. Bednarska chose him specifically as she believes most people who live in cities can probably identify with him – feeling like clogs in a big machine.

Topics of materialism, urbanization and post-humanism are explored in this collection. Inspired by the futuristic elements of the film such as neon lights and modern buildings, Bednarska generates huge hand-painted patterns which replicate graffiti. Multiple straight lines characterize the clothes, reminding viewers of a barcode, which is the symbol of consumerism.

Unusual materials such as synthetic mesh and 3D fabric were used to create one of the coats which imitates the mass-produced bomber jacket. This garment, as Bednarska claims, is meant to mirror how most people wear clothes in order to fit in, without realizing that they are a part of a modern society of clones.

What 11811 provokes is a reflection on the relationship between man and big cities. More specifically, the troubling insertion of humanity in a hyper-technological world.