Here and Now Fashion Festival

THROUGH THE LENS

This collection is inspired by the woman in constant movement, a seeker, a rebellious spirit who keeps looking for her true self, her purpose in life, her calling. This woman is young at heart, regardless of how old she is. She’s delicate but strong, she lives for her people but is a unique individual. In her story, she returns to her roots, reveals her deepest secrets, and faces her past which is a necessary step to move forward in life and simply be sincerely happy. This is her way to object against today's society entangled in social and political lies, double standards, rewritten history, and illusion about itself that keeps people away from who they truly are.

In this collection, Slavic mythology dated long before Christianity came to Poland became a metaphor of that life search and a reminder of who we are and where we come from. Nowadays, Poland positions itself as an ultra-catholic country. At the same time society is full of intolerance and internal conflicts that seem to be far away from the original idea of Christianity. A similar thing happens for the United States of America as these two countries, close to the designer’s heart, are currently facing an identity crisis. That is why this collection refers to magic, rituals, and costumes of pre-Christian Polish folklore combined with the elements of the New Age spiritual movement that is characteristic of American culture. To create that primitive and raw foundation of the collection, only natural textiles from fibers like silk, hemp, cotton, and linen were used. Multiple treatments were made to bring the whimsical and organic feeling to them such as creating silk and cotton lace felt, dyeing with natural dyes e.g. flowers and fruits, handcrafting flowers, and creating and finding new ways of wearing crystal jewelry.

The name of the collection “Through the Lens” means from one’s perspective as everyone has their spiritual path, way to go, and way to see things. Same as for lenses - different lens shows a different perspective of the scene. Just the scene is always the same: a longing for unbothered happiness.

Kinga Indrzejczak is a Polish-born fashion designer currently residing in New York. She is best known for her storytelling skills: observation, market intelligence, and sensitive imagination. People who work with her tend to say that looking at her designing process is like reading a journal: with every collection, she tells a story.

Kinga represents style best described as off-femininity. Her collections are inspired by art, nature, and primarily her own life experiences with her heritage playing an important role. She strongly believes that every collection starts with emotions. She works mostly with natural fabrics.

In 2020 Kinga graduated with honors from Parsons School of Design. She has a MA in Journalism and Social Communication as well as a MA in Management and Marketing.