100 Years of Polish Fashion Captured in Elegant Book
‘Reason & Flair: A Century of Fashion in Poland’ is the title of an eye-catching and in-depth book-album summarising the last hundred years of Polish fashion and culture. The publisher of the publication is the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in co-operation with the OsnoVa publishing house.
Published in English, this richly illustrated book is addressed to foreign audiences: journalists specialising in fashion, students of fashion, anthropology, sociology and the history of culture, as well as designers. The aim of the publication is to present not only the history of clothing, but also to talk about Poland through clothing, both its culture and society.
Text
The history of Polish fashion is the history of Polish culture. Reason & Flair shows not only the refined taste of fashion designers, but also the resourcefulness of designers and Polish women themselves. Over the years, Polish fashion has been an expression of longing for the West, and a manifestation of freedom and originality.
Author
Barbara Krzeska, Deputy Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Each chapter in the album is devoted to a different decade in the history of Polish fashion. The authors begin with the joyful period after Poland regained its independence in 1918, a moment of great hope and expectation. At that time, designs referenced the best patterns of France and Italy. World War II made fashion a bit less important, although it continued to enter into a dialogue with the surrounding reality.
After the end of the war in 1945, Polish fashion was subordinated to ideology. The 1960s and 1970s brought more freedom – this was when the state-owned enterprise Moda Polska was established under the supervision of Jadwiga Grabowska, whose projects aroused admiration in Western Europe. The 1980s brought great changes. It was a time of subcultures, the first rock festivals, and overt opposition to the communist regime.
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Photo of the book ‘Reason & Flair’, photo: AMI
Nowadays, the current generation of Polish fashion designers do not want to imitate the achievements of others, but to create their own history, based on a rich tradition. Poland has a chance to be in the avant-garde and, thanks to its experience, become a point of reference.
Text
This album is not only a description of the Polish sector or industry, but also the many aspects of fashion: artistic, everyday, cultural and social. I am convinced that certain stories and collective experiences can only be accessed through fashion, and that such a lens will bring us closer to understanding the history of a given country, even those for whom its fate is exotic.
Author
Karolina Sulej, writer and editor of the book
Texts for the book Reason & Flair: A Century of Fashion in Poland were written by an impressive roster of experts:
- Dr. Agata Zborowska: lecturer on the anthropology of things at the University of Warsaw
- Dr. Aleksandra Jatczak: lecturer on fashion history and theory at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
- Olga Drenda: cultural anthropologist and award-winning essayist
- Aleksandra Boćkowska: reporter
- Michał Zaczyński: journalist and blogger
- Karolina Sulej: book editor, writer and reporter, dealing with the popularization of fashion anthropology.
The project is part of the ongoing celebrations of the centenary of regaining independence and the rebuilding of Polish statehood.
Order the book online from Contemporary Lynx (Europe) or Draw Down (USA)
Source: press release, compiled by AZ, May 2021
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