BEFORE '89

This cards recount the story of Polish fashion from 1945 to 1989. Like art and industrial design, fashion in Poland blossomed in spite of, and as part of, the prevailing communist regime, which began after World War II and fell in 1989. Behind the Iron Curtain, the Polish fashion industry played an important role in helping to create and shape global fashion trends ― all the more remarkable in the face of an oppressive political regime, widespread censorship and the lack of raw materials. In the case of the communism period we discuss a wider historical context in which the fashion was created, by including leading fashion photographers, artists directors, graphic designers or fashion magazines of the time. These major gures, brands and titles had a big influence on fashion in the country during this era, with a great deal of emphasis on typically Polish trends, such as urban folk design.