Illustrated!

Illustrated!

Blue Mondays are only a pretext, so that once a year we can take a moment to appreciate the work of talented Polish women illustrators. Not everyone is aware of their work or follows their international achievements, but we do so constantly and we’re thrilled that not only Polish literature has achieved world class these days. We’d like to briefly introduce you to two creative and visionary women with whom we’ve had the pleasure of collaborating. 

Last year, we started a kind of series and invited Sylwia Dębicka to work with us. Our meeting resulted in a warm and amusing piece illustrating this 'most depressing' day of the year. In her characteristic and understated fashion, she captured the woman we had imagined for whom not everything went smoothly on this day…yet her expression tells us something more: relax, get some perspective, just breathe and enjoy what remains of the day! Women are the focus of this artist’s creativity, interpreting them in her own minimalistic language inspired by the aesthetic of Japanese woodcuts -- ukiyo-e (浮世絵). She likes to leave her work a bit unfinished, allowing light to play across the image in such a way that each woman can perceive some element of herself within it. And we enjoy recognizing ourselves in these illustrations.

Sylwia Dębicka is a graduate of the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw, where she works and creates on a daily basis for some of the world’s biggest fashion firms, e.g. Givenchy and Dior. From time to time, we can also encounter her at intimate workshops in Łódź at the charming Księży Młyn, where she teaches somewhat more than just fashion illustration. These get-togethers really have something magic about them!

As for this year’s illustration, we are so impressed that we haven’t yet been able to fully process it. Ewelina Dymek, by training an English major, by avocation an illustrator and graphic designer and – which is absolutely amazing – she is entirely self-taught! She can take pride in a portfolio that includes projects for, among others, Vanity Fair, Kiehl’s, GQ magazine and the Washington Post.  She is inspired by the nature of a woman – her inner strength, her sensuality and her internal contradictions. She joins together details and expressive gestures with remarkably light, yet dynamic lines. Her illustration brings to our mind the masters of hyperrealism, but you might see in it figures from the cult sessions of Vogue magazine (who knows, perhaps this drawing will be featured not only in the January issue of Italian Vogue!). Regardless of the sort of inspiration you find in Ewelina’s work, you certainly won’t be able to take your eyes off of it!

We are keeping true to our philosophy according to which women design for women. We already can’t wait for our wonderful future collaborations and fantastic projects.