Fantasies have plenty of space to come alive in the summer haze. Imagine wearing a poppy red retro 3D flower bikini lying poolside; or an adorable crochet bralette top when buying a watermelon from a roadside cart? Or one of those ruched bold shouldered mini dresses dancing the night away to Roxy Music?
These are the kind of reveries that Polish Magda Butrym thoroughly enjoys, and she brings them to life in her namesake collection that is alive with 80s glamour, handicraft details and subcultural references giving her take on romance an edge.
“The pieces I design have this long-lasting quality and I also believe that the handcraft has soul, which makes my clothes beautiful. I think that pieces with the handcrafted details are really, really special,” says Butrym who lives and works in Warsaw in a studio overlooking a park, with a fountain and a riverside promenade.
From an early age, Butrym was fascinated by style and the magical boost to self-esteem that a good garm gives. Growing up in Silesia, a two-hour train ride from Warsaw, before the collapse of communism also gave her another instinctual grasp of the meaning of style. As a young girl her first eureka moment was wearing a red wool cape that her mother bought for her.
The designer has learnt the craft and the business of fashion by trial and error. “I didn’t finish a well-known fashion school, just a simple school in Poland, and I’ve basically learnt everything by myself. 20 years ago, Poland was a communist country; fashion industry was inexistent, so in such context you must learn and search for inspiration yourself, push the barriers all the time,” says Butrym of impulse to launch her namesake label in 2014.
Crochet bustier bra top
@magdabutrym // Instagram
Being an outsider in the fashion world, she advanced with a certain naive fearlessness. On taking her collection to Paris, Kim Kardashian, spotting her dress asked to see her collection – kismet. Since, she has garnered many fans including Anja Rubik, Jourdan Dunn, Dua Lipa and Chloe Sevigny who are all drawn to her melange of sub cultural references and new romantic charm.
Now the 37-year-old, and mother of a young son, is on top of a brand with an international reach and a loyal client following. Over the years she has gradually and patiently expanded the collection from those 80s inspired ruched and draped bold shoulder mini dresses that have become her signature, to knitwear, denim and now beachwear and handbags. She makes her clothes distinct by incorporating embellishments from floral 3D effects to crochet, feathery hems and her striking floral prints that have the punchy joyous colour mixes of Emanuel Ungaro or Christian Lacroix. This year, she launched swimwear (think Vargas pin up) and handbags crafted from denim, leather, and crochet and named after Slavic Goddesses. Each style – from hobo to half-moon and clutch - comes with a talismanic brooch with a cascade of crystals that promise to put a sway in your every step.
