The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was a period of increased interest in folk culture in Poland. The artists appreciate its visual appeal and the colourfulness of the Krakow and Podhale countryside permeates their work. At the same time, in the country under partition, there were discussions about the creation of a national art, and it was the familiar Polish countryside that was to be the basis for its creation. “Polishness” includes not only high art but also fashion, among other things. The press is urging women to abandon Parisian models and channel their fashion interests into native patterns. This is how highland sheepskin coats, waistcoats and feathered hats are making their way into urban wardrobes. Although the “patriotic” fashion will not catch on in Poland on a larger scale, folk inspirations will become an interesting diversification. In the decades to come, artists, craftsmen and designers will continue to draw on local tradition, combining it with modern design trends. In Zuzanna Żubka-Chmielewska’s lecture we will trace some of these tracks. We will see how folk motifs are combined with the aesthetics of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, we will look at the fashion for “Polish linen” in the 1930s, we will open the doors of the “Cepelia” and we will look for Polishness in the fashion of the “flower children.”
Zuzanna Żubka-Chmielewska – art historian, fashion historian and cultural anthropologist. Doctoral student at the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where she deals with the history of clothing. She loves to track old clothing habits and explore the social and symbolic meaning of attire. Apart from real fashion, she enthusiastically analyses film costumes. She sometimes browses in the archives, but what he enjoys most is contact with people. Every year she takes care of a multitude of Warsaw students, giving lectures at the Viamoda University, Warsaw School of Advertising and the International School of Costume and Fashion Design. She also frequently shares her knowledge on radio and television and co-organises fashion exhibitions.
online lecture available until 13.02.2021

Lecture online 13.01.2021 – 13.02.2021