In the Gallery of Fashion and Attire, established in 2024, we aim to gather and organise knowledge about the “Roma costume”, exploring whether a common denominator exists in the way Polish Roma men and women dress. We examine what is unique to this style and what aligns with mainstream fashion. For this initiative, we collaborated with Dr Joanna Talewicz, an anthropologist, social activist, and expert on Roma minority issues, diversity, and human rights, as well as the head of the Towards Dialogue Foundation. Other contributors included ethnologist and social activist Paweł Lechowski, owner of an extensive collection of Roma cultural artefacts and affiliated with the RSO Harangos Association, and designer Wanda Rutowicz, the owner of the Roma Fashion Studio. Andrzej Grzymała-Kazłowski, founder and director of the Museum of Roma Culture in Warsaw, provided graphics and photographs from his collection, accompanied by his commentary. The project as a whole was coordinated by Małgorzata Brus, a costume designer and cultural studies specialist from our Dom Kultury Foundation.
The Gallery of Fashion and Attire is only the first step. We welcome your feedback, ideas, and critiques to help us develop it further together.
Justyna Domasłowska-Szulc
Funded by KPO funds. GRANTS 2024. A2.5.1: Programme for Supporting Activities of the Cultural and Creative Sectors to Stimulate Their Development.
