All hail the new fashion capital
If it’s Made in Poland, the fashionistas want it. Victoria Moss on how Warsaw became the hottest style destination
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Warsaw. The Disney-esque Old Town, rebuilt after its obliteration during Nazi occupation, has a lingering sense of mournful eeriness, when you pause to imagine the horrors, but alongside that is the buzz of a city in flux, with all the vibrancy and creative ideas that brings.
“Vegan cafés are everywhere,” says accessories designer Zofia Chylak, 31, when I visit the chic store she shares with her friend Zuzanna Kuczynska, 34, who runs Le Petit Trou, a nightwear label with a tempting sideline in satin black slippers completed by big bows (I’m wearing mine with jeans).
Aside from milk not-from-a-cow, Warsaw has many stylish thrills on offer. There are concept stores and boutique hotels (see the Autor Rooms, which are all minimal whites and clean lines). Its restaurant scene is booming: Opasły Tom (which skirts the new Old Town) serves exceptional fare, and you dine in such compelling interiors (very Wes Anderson mid-century) that the pull to Instagram every chic supper backdrop is high. Warsaw is a trove of newness, but executed in a compelling way – something compounded by last year’s launch of Vogue Poland.
Chylak launched her handbag line in 2014, not long after returning from a stint in New York interning with Proenza Schouler (she turned down a full-time role to come home). Her designs slowly built momentum, but it was the advent of Instagram that really propelled them beyond her homeland audience.
The modern approach to shopping opens up all sorts of unique finds. That scanning through Instagram, or clicking add to basket on a new online store is a new frontier not to be feared, but rather embraced for the new style connections it offers.
“Six years ago, no Polish brands were known outside of Poland,” she tells me. She now boasts Net-a-porter as a stockist, as well as a 15,000-strong waiting list for some of her pieces. They sell out so quickly that, when new stock arrives, she staggers the online release to make sure that her fans in the US don’t miss out due to the time lag. The cult appeal of her work has been spurred on by the bags’ position as a certain kind of style-catnip toted by Alexa Chung (at last month’s Glastonbury festival) and the model Edie Campbell.
Chylak and Kuczynska met years back through their partners, who now both work with them in their respective businesses. Kuczynska had worked as a stylist before launching Le Petit Trou around five years ago – the name translates as “the little hole” (a moderately cheeky design touch incorporated into the back of each pair of knickers as a pretty peek-a-boo cutout). It’s the sort of delicate lingerie that’s ideal for those who don’t require excessive scaffolding. It comes in S, M, L, rather than specific sizes – something that will either appeal or infuriate depending on your shape – and the bras are all fashioned from dainty stretch tulle (Kuczynska has a policy of no lace) and skirt around that sort of modern vintage feel: soft cups with ruffles, underwired cups with sweet ribbon-tie straps – pieces that are designed to be seen peeking through a semi-sheer blouse. Alongside this she has chic baby-doll nightdresses, feathertrimmed dressing gowns and dazzling robes and dresses. It’s all tempting.
As well as these two women, another thirtysomething designer based in Warsaw has made a striking impact on the international fashion scene. Magda Butrym (nominated last year for the prestigious LVMH Prize) has been enjoying the sort of cult, sell-out status bequeathed on the white-hot of-the-moment-brands. But she is far more than a fleeting trend. Her designs hit an interesting spot of colourful, floral puffed-sleeve It Girl slips and blouses, soft cashmere cardigans with patterned silk linings (delicious) as well as pearls and bows strewn about as opulent details and dandyish mules. If one had to narrow down references, I’d place it somewhere in between Marie Antoinette and Dynasty.
Butrym is softly spoken and incredibly shrewd, crediting her country’s newfound cultural relevance to the simple fact the post-soviet years had them stuck in a depression-fuelled stasis for so long. She describes her work as “romantic and feminine, with a mix of the masculine. I think if you’re wearing a mini skirt it’s nice to add in something oversized as well. They’re clothes to be noticed in, but I try to have a balance – it’s super-hard to make it sexy but still romantic.”
Butrym’s prices sit higher than those of her Warsaw contemporaries – the result of luxury Italian and French factory production (her pieces, however, are exquisite). “Poland is quite in the middle for me, we’re not in the east – we’re a mix,” she explains. “You have this crossover of the post-soviet style but also the soft, pretty Slavia women. When you look at old photos you see they were very elegant, but not the Parisian perfect look.”