It celebrates works by more than fifty designers drawn from our collection of contemporary fashion. We are the first museum in Poland to build a collection of this kind, which we have been developing for seven years now. Both of these pioneering undertakings grow out of a need to document a phenomenon that forms an important part of our cultural heritage. For years, it has remained out of reach for Polish museums.

From the outset, we moved away from thinking about fashion solely in terms of trends or chronological sequences. We were interested in fashion as a means of telling stories about history, memory and emotion. For us, “Polishness” becomes the key category, understood as a set of experiences and cultural contexts that shape our identity.

Fashion as the language of the present

The exhibition explores the present by creating a multilayered account of fashion as one of the most sensitive languages of contemporary culture. The roots and contexts of the garments and accessories on display, all dating from the twenty-first century, relate both to history and to contemporary phenomena. Sarmatism, ideas about Slavic mythology, rural culture, post-Yalta resettlements, political persecution and Marian motifs stand alongside queer culture, drag art, techno music and the latest developments in technology. Other important themes include post-gender identity, changing perceptions of gender, and diversity connected with origin or appearance. Another significant issue is ethical production, which increasingly draws on earlier local crafts.

Fashion as a record of personal histories

Contemporary fashion in Poland and around the world is becoming increasingly autobiographical; above all, it speaks to the experiences and roots of those who design it. As a result, it engages ever more deeply with personal themes and focuses ever more closely on individual emotions. Design may be linked to mastering fear, working through trauma, and expressing joy and pride, but also rebellion and disappointment. The exhibition therefore also serves as a kind of fashion gauge of the emotions of those who wear and create fashion connected with Poland.

The exhibition also features Black Reliefs / Black Reliefs II (1963), a tapestry by Magdalena Abakanowicz, as well as Needle / Nadel by Paulina Ołowska, from the collection of Katarzyna Jordan.

More than an exhibition

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated book, New Polish Fashion from the Collection of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, published in Polish and English and featuring a selection of essays on contemporary Polish fashion.

We are also preparing a programme of unexpected events through which, following the exhibition’s themes, we try to touch on the sensitive points of the present. The exhibition also has its own scent, namely natural botanical perfumes.

New Polish Fashion. A Chronicle of Deep Feelings

13 June 2026 – 3 May 2027

Opening Reception: 13 June 2026, 4:00 PM | Free admission

Curator: Marcin Różyc

Exhibition Design: Zuza Golińska

Collaboration: Trin Alt

Visual Identity: @pktwidz

Coordinator: Aleksandra Kmiecik

For more information click HERE