Polish Fashion Stories

colour studio collaborating with nature

Having artistic background, dyeing is creating for me. I am very interested in the aesthetic aspects of this phenomenon, much less chemical and physical. I want to bring you closer to the wealth that lies dormant in nature. Show that beauty surrounds us at every step.

Aleksandra Bystry

Spring bloom, abundance of summer scents, unmatched autumnal palette. Nature never cease to amaze. It soothes our minds and reminds that we were all born creative. Designers and artists draw from its free resource of colour, texture and pattern aiming to capture its glory and richness. For Aleksandra Bystry, a Łódź based textile designer, nature is more than inspiration - it is her medium of work, a collaborator in creative process.

In 2014 she found Dzikie Barwy (Eng:Wild Dyes) a colour studio dedicated to plant based dyeing techniques. Since a few years, her partner Dawid joined the venture as a logistics mastermind. And most recently their daughter Gaia was born - “a truly wild kid” laughs Aleksandra. Following centuries old methods and coming up with new recipes Aleksandra obtains rich spectrum of colours from plants, leaves and roots. Her practice stretches wide from selling yarn and material, running workshops and educational events to collaborating with fashion brands and designers. In 2019 Aleksandra published a book „Wild dyes. On natural dyeing textiles with plants” a very first illustrated book on the subject in Poland. Having topped bestseller lists, in 2022 the book was translated into English and made available in a e-book form.

photo by Aleksandra Bystry // Dzikie Barwy

Natural Dyeing is an ancient technique, with first remarks of it dating back to the Stone Age. People turned to flora for colour for centuries. Discovery of “Mauve” in 1856 by an English chemist W.H.Perkin marked a beginning of a new era for textiles. Synthetic dyes rapidly conquered the market making the process quicker and cost-effective. It enabled to keep up with the mass growth of apparel and textile production following the industrial revolution. Meanwhile, natural dyes dwindled, became marginalised to a niche hobby. Knowledge about them preserved within old books and rural communities. Now, a rise in ethical and sustainable practices across fashion is breathing new life into such age-old traditions. Harmful ecological impacts of synthetic dyes by-products, their link to carcinogens and toxic amines, are just facts industry can’t put a blind eye on anymore. Today fashion is slowly turning back to the roots again. And roots as well as leaves, flowers have a lot of colour to offer us.

Dzikie Barwy is located in Łódź, in a former textile factory. The studio gives a vibe of a kitchen, pharmacy or a botanist. “The aura changes each day, with different scents filling the air in our studio. Scents often travel to other spaces in the building (…) my neighbours often come by asking what plant am I cooking today” laughs Aleksandra. Her passion for colour stretches back to her childhood. “As long as I remember I loved drawing, painting. I was lucky to meet some great teachers on my way who encouraged me to carry on with my passion for painting”. She used to design clothes for herself and her family.
Colour and print aspect of design was always essential to her work. It was during her studies that she developed particular knowledge and expertise in various dyeing techniques , however a general eco-awareness and closeness to nature was naturally present in her family. “My parents would often go and pick herbs for tea. I’ve always been strongly leaning towards nature myself too. It just found its perfect outlet in my professional practice now” .

She started off studying a fashion design degree but eventually switched to textiles, where she could indulge her love of colour and fibre to the fullest. Aleksandra’s first venture into textile dyeing was Japanese shibori technique. Her first trials involved synthetic dyes but she soon moved on to powered extracts from plants. "It was a real revelation. It turned out that the plant colour palette is very rich, contains many subtle and noble shades. The more I delved into the topic of natural dyeing, the more often I went outdoors and completed my own collection of plants.”

As of now Aleksandra uses no extracts at all, but only fresh and dried plants mostly coming from her own collections. “From the flora growing in our climate, you can get a wide range of colours: warm and cold yellows, greens, deep browns, sunny ocher, greys, violets, reds, brick and powder pinks, oranges... Sometimes I supplement this range with colours that give exotic plants, for example indigo dye a source of deep garnet.”

There was no one, direct source to learn from.” Aleksandra recalls on her beginnings. She immersed herself in thorough research which involved studying ancient books, vintage magazines, 19th century, farmers’ or housewives’ guides as well as blogs on textile reconstruction. From those she formed her own methods and ideas through trials and errors.

“I could compare dyeing to horse riding or swimming - you have to remember about certain rules, a lot of skills and mindfulness. But there is no point in fighting the horse or the wave, rather you have to unite with them and move in the chosen direction together.”

Alongside studio work, Aleksandra organises regular field trips and courses set in a picturesque countryside location near Łódź. During those workshops we interact with nature in quite significant, direct way, with our entire body. (…) The aura of those classes is very botanical. The actual visual effect comes in the end.” Aleksandra laughs calling those courses “quite witchy”. The process sounds eerie and magical indeed. The workshops are not outcome oriented. The essence of it is the mediative process of reconnecting with nature and celebrating its beauty and abundance. “I invite participants to take creative actions with plants, or just enjoy them: what smells, smiles at us in the meadow, what rustles and touches our hands.”

Following the forage, the stage of actual textile and dye matter interaction is very alchemic and requires full attention. A plan and method is essential but a dose of spontaneity needed too. Sometimes a minor variation might turn the colour into completely different shade. “It is a very wet process. The studio has so many mordents hanging around, and accidental interaction with them can divert our colour in an unexpected direction. Essential is then to let go of expectations and commit to the process.”

photos by Aleksandra Bystry // Dzikie Barwy

Dzikie Barwy studio’s work runs in accordance with two types of calendars - market and nature. During summer months the studio moves outdoors. Naturally, summer is a brilliant time to forage and harvest as plants reach their full abundance and offer quite a plethora of colours. Summer leaves are perfect to use in botanical contact printing technique - so called eco-print technique. “We spread leaves on the previously mordanted fabric and tightly wrap them in a roll. Then we boil it in water or in a dye bath. The effects are sure and often spectacular!” explains Aleksandra. She admits that despite preconceptions, nature all year around has colours on offer. “It only seems that in autumn nature goes to rest. There are still so many processes going on (…) Even late autumn can provide us with plant matter excellent for dyeing.” Late flowers, fruits, even mushrooms are colourants too.

End of the year is particularly busy period for the studio with a lot of workshops and training for students and interested individuals. It is also time for fashion collaborations. Despite the studio running for only 8 years, the collaborator list includes established Polish brands such as Ania Kuczynska, Nago or Roe&Joe. Such projects however are feasible only on a small scale, for very limited, capsule collections. “We work with brands that can and are willing to wait (…) Long process of natural dyeing impacts the price point too so customer has to understand the value and complexity of the process behind it”.

Apart from collaborations with fashion and interior businesses, Aleksandra is keen to explore different creative outlets. The most recent project of the studio touched on the field of photography. “We ran a workshop on cyanotype toning with natural colourants. It showed me the enormous versatility of botanicals in application to various creative areas beyond textiles” says Aleksandra. Recently cyanotype technique is enjoying a significant resurgence. It is considered more eco-friendly than other photography techniques. Toning blueprints with botanicals allows prints to turn out in a wide spectrum of colours without any toxics involved.

photos by: Aleksandra Bystry / Agata Brynkiewicz

With raising global eco-consciousness, the future surely belongs to natural dyes. While it is unlikely for plant based dyes to replace synthetics, which serve speedy fast fashion production chains in its (over)production. Many argue however, that the future is not fast anymore. The change certainly has to come from us, individuals and we can start it now making our everyday choices more conscious.

Asked about the future plans and directions of the studio, Aleksandra shares that the next thing she wishes to look into is the healing potential of naturally dyed textiles. Her plan is to research into the topic of its impact on allergies, skin problems and diseases. It is an area of enormous potential for both fashion and beauty brands to invest in. And yet another reason for us to distance from synthetics over something kinder to our skin.

If Dzikie Barwy inspired you like me, follow their feed on Instagram. If you want to have a go with natural dying purchase their e-book which is a fantastic guide to start off your journey.

Who knows, next summer you might end up on a countryside in Poland on one of Aleksandra’s immersive, witchy courses. Reach out to Dzikie Barwy for more details about them!

Dzikie Barwy

colour studio collaborating with nature

words by Paulina Czajor