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From New York to Bali, 26-year-old designer Maikhanh Bertrand takes her brand, REBELDNCE, around the globe to meet fashionistas of different cultures. A label with an international perspective, the name REBELDNCE actually originated from a song Bertrand’s musician husband, S.K., wrote called “REBEL GIRL.”

“Basically what ‘REBELDNCE’ talks about is finding a way to rebel against the way things are going on without being negative and fighting … in a way that’s positive and artistic,” she says.

Launched in 2008, REBELDNCE is not only rooted in music, but also built on an aesthetic of haute desinvolture.

“What that means is haute, like haute couture, so very beautiful finishings; all the finishings inside are very well-made,” Bertrand says. “Desinvolture is casualness but with insolence. So it has to be high-end, but something that’s strong and that has personality.”

Born in Louisiana to French and Vietnamese parents, Bertrand left her footprints all over the world since she was a small child, from China to Los Angeles, back to Singapore and Hong Kong. Finally she ended up going to art school in Lyon, France, and later studied fashion in Marseille in south France, before her internships brought her to New York. Travel makes up a large part of Bertrand’s life, so there’s no surprise when the designer combines the element of travel with her garments.

“I want my clothes to be able to follow and not have to worry about throwing it in a washing machine,” Bertrand says. “Something that’s very easy … to take care of, but that gives you immediately a dressed-up look and a complete personal fashion-forward look. When I travel, I don’t want to stand out as being the tourist, or just being in my travel clothes. These have to be my urban, my travel, my everywhere.”

Now residing in Indonesia with her vocalist and producer husband and their baby daughter, Bertrand takes great advantage of the resources available locally, be it fabric, production, or craftsmanship. Comfort comes at the top of the list, thus Bertrand uses linen and silk to make T-shirts and jerseys. As soft as the fabrics are, the style of the garments is actually pretty street. 

“The look of it is more urban because we want it to be an urban traveler’s wardrobe. It has to be easy to carry around,” Bertrand says. “It still has to be sophisticated enough to be able to work during the day and at night to go to dinners … without losing of course a sense of style, and a sense of still being young and fashion-forward, not like the full suit, the skirt suit, or the pant suit.”

As Bertrand travels back and forth between Indonesia and the States, she is thinking about how to recenter her label and create a more versatile brand image. For the autumn/winter 2010 collection, the designer foresees lots of unisex pieces, but not in your ordinary girl-wearing-boy-outfit kind of way.

“I’m trying to get a balance between men’s and women’s clothing where it’s not just unisex like, ‘This girl took her husband’s clothes,’” Bertrand says. “It has to be in the medium like, ‘This guy can pull off something that’s kind of feminine, and this girl can pull off something that’s kind of masculine.’”

Like most independent designers, Bertrand admits that REBELDNCE is a one-person show. While a lot of work goes into it, Bertrand enjoys every second of it as she makes clothes that she likes, clothes that don’t follow the poppy ’80s trend that’s popular right now, but reflect her view of the world.

“[I] try to find something that’s more edgy. Not just fun because right now things aren’t fun,” Bertrand says. “Things are hard work, serious, and we all need to get back on track and decide what we’re doing. That’s really my way of getting people back to reality. I can’t say fashion is an art. But it still is an art. I get all my strength and everything I want to say inside. It’s my art business.”

Indeed art and fashion collide; REBELDNCE is a pretty good example. At a time when everyone’s hoping the economic hardship will finally be over, Bertrand holds an upbeat attitude in the rather dark hours.

“There are no success stories without a period of hustle and struggle,” the designer says. “If you can make it through the recession, you’ll make it out at the top. I can guarantee.”

www.REBELDNCE.com
www.cargocollective.com/REBELDNCE

(Photo credit: REBELDNCE)

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