{"id":11342,"date":"2025-01-22T06:10:25","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T05:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/?p=11342"},"modified":"2025-01-22T06:13:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T05:13:13","slug":"interview-with-wanda-rutowicz-owner-of-the-romani-fashion-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/interview-with-wanda-rutowicz-owner-of-the-romani-fashion-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Wanda Rutowicz, Owner of the Romani Fashion Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wanda Rutowicz in her studio, photo by Ma\u0142gorzata Brus<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cRoma women are disadvantaged. Hundreds of designers create collections for Polish women, but no one thinks about women living in Poland but belonging to a different culture. Yet, Roma women have their own desires. They want to dress fashionably while preserving their culture, with all its rules and customs. That\u2019s why I decided to create collections for the Roma community, including formal, everyday, and stage outfits.\u201d<\/em>
Wanda Rutowicz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ma\u0142gorzata Brus:<\/strong> When I search for \u201cWanda Rutowicz\u201d online, I see information stating that you are an internationally recognised designer of Romani costumes. Do you have Roma roots?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanda Rutowicz:<\/strong> Yes, but mostly in spirit. My father looked like a Roma man, so all our friends assumed I had Romani blood. My grandmother was a beautiful woman, and Romani caravans used to pass through, so who knows? I once wrote a fairy tale about the Romani people, inspired by the village where my grandparents came from. It makes me think it must have come from somewhere… From a young age, I loved traditional Roma culture, though at the time, I didn\u2019t know I would one day be professionally involved in sewing Roma dresses. There\u2019s definitely something within me, so perhaps I do indeed have Romani roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romani Fashion Studio\u2026 How do you define \u201cRomani fashion\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To most people, \u201cRomani fashion\u201d is associated with stage costumes, which, let\u2019s be honest, are designed to meet the audience\u2019s expectations. People attending concerts or shows want to see something stunning, and television also dictates certain standards. Everything must look beautiful – ruffles, sequins, and vibrant colours are a must. During performances, people want to see something spectacular, a beautiful show – it\u2019s not just about dancing around a fire in a wider skirt. Audiences come to admire the shimmering sequins, the gorgeous dresses, and the women who look like colourful birds or butterflies. It\u2019s like a fairy tale.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo: Wanda Rutowicz<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where did your passion and interest in Romani stage costumes originate? Is it limited to stage costumes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not at all, it\u2019s not just about stage costumes. Like many things in life, it all happened by chance. I had a tailoring workshop with 15 employees, making garments for export to the US, France, and Germany. One day – a Wednesday, I remember – a young Romani woman came in, crying, and asked me to sew her a dress. I thought, \u201cHoly Mother of Cz\u0119stochowa, everything\u2019s already chaotic here, and now she wants a dress?\u201d But I felt sorry for her. Her luggage had gone missing, she\u2019d flown in from England and was attending a Roma wedding. Roma weddings aren\u2019t only on Saturdays or Sundays, like Polish ones – they can take place during the week and last for several days. The poor girl had nothing to wear, so I agreed. She brought fabric that looked more suitable for curtains – chiffon with crumpled flowers. She was amusing and wanted a long dress with a matching ruffled coat and oversized ruffles on the sleeves. I said, \u201cAlright\u201d, and I sewed it. When my daughter, who wore the same size, came into work, I told her to try it on. She looked beautiful, though a bit like she was in a negligee. I thought, \u201cOh God, this girl is going to show up at the wedding like this?\u201d But when the Romani woman came to pick it up and tried it on, it was pure magic! She knew how to wear it and make it shine. That\u2019s how it all began. After that first dress, I started receiving a flood of orders from the Romani community. It\u2019s not easy to obtain proper Romani attire due to their customs, and designers rarely consider this. Some women, for example, pin their skirts closed with safety pins because they\u2019re not allowed to show their legs. Others sew random patches onto their outfits to cover their shoulders. I love creating beautiful things, and Roma attire is one of the most beautiful in the world, so I took it seriously and began designing and sewing Romani costumes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo: Wanda Rutowicz<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fashion is constantly evolving, with changes happening ever more rapidly. Is this also true for Roma attire? Are there significant changes influenced by customs or technology, or does tradition dominate and keep the costumes resistant to global trends?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 25 years, I\u2019ve worked hard to modernise Romani attire. Young women can\u2019t dress as they did in the past, such as during the caravan days – that\u2019s obvious. They want to look stylish. Roma women love dressing up, so their clothing must also evolve. However, many changes depend on family and community, as well as historical and cultural contexts. Regarding elements directly dictated by Romanipen (the Romani cultural code), I modernise the outfits while preserving cultural values. For instance, I don\u2019t reveal too much or emphasise their figures excessively, yet I ensure the garments are contemporary. I once showcased my designs in P\u0142ock, and I\u2019m proud to say that Romani elders came backstage to congratulate me on my work. They thanked me for promoting Romani culture and for not trying to change it forcibly. It was a great honour for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You own the \u201cRomani Fashion Studio\u201d, the only one in Europe and renowned worldwide. Do you design all the outfits yourself, or do you have a team assisting you in the creative process?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo: Wanda Rutowicz in her studio, photo by Ma\u0142gorzata Brus<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s no set method. I used to employ people to help me, but it\u2019s hard to find skilled individuals for this work. Contrary to appearances, sewing a traditional Romani dress isn\u2019t easy. Romani dances are incredibly dynamic, so the costumes must hold up. A single skirt can have a circumference of 8 metres and nearly 100 metres of ruffles at the hem! I used to outsource sequin and embellishment work, but when I asked seamstresses to reinforce the stitching by going over it three times, they often ignored this for the sake of speed. Then, during performances, dancers would spin, and sequins would fall off – completely unacceptable. Now, I do everything myself – designing and sewing. It takes longer, but I\u2019m confident in the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I found a page on Facebook named “Wanda Rutowicz & Bruce Stradling”. Upon further research, I see that Bruce Stradling is an artist and designer of graphics and textiles. What is your collaboration like? What do you create together?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruce Stradling is my friend. He\u2019s an artist, a graphic designer, and a textile designer. Thanks to our collaboration, we\u2019ve created unique dresses, such as the \u201ccard deck dress\u201d and the \u201crose dress\u201d. We\u2019re now working on a dress inspired by a piano keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Anna Popek in the card deck dress, photo by Wanda Rutowicz<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Romani dresses, especially stage costumes, are known for their richness and diversity of fabrics and haberdashery accessories. On average, how much fabric and additional materials are needed to create a dress?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every dress – at least mine – requires meticulous calculations to ensure it \u201cdances\u201d well. To avoid becoming a burden for the dancer, the fabric weights must harmonise. My dresses usually incorporate five or six types of fabric, carefully matched in terms of colour and weight. Only then does the dress come together. How much fabric? Four metres are needed for the skirt, while the bottom ruffle alone requires 70 to 100 metres. Additionally, there\u2019s an underskirt underneath. The bodice can be as simple as a stretchy blouse. Some dancers love corsets with boning – they\u2019re stiff and restrictive but look stunning. Others prefer dresses in one piece. The possibilities are endless. The key is for the dancer to feel comfortable and free in the outfit. I have clients who prefer their skirts to be ankle-length, while others want the hem to graze the floor because it makes dancing easier for them. I fulfil their dreams. I source haberdashery accessories from Italy, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. I find them wherever I can. I buy additional items, like earrings and flowers for embellishments, from Indian shops. Sometimes, I sew gemstones by hand onto the dresses. We even make hair flowers ourselves because it\u2019s nearly impossible to find the perfect ones for dancing. Over 25 years, I\u2019ve never repeated the same dress. There\u2019s no production line, every dress I make is unique and distinct.<\/p>\n\n\n