Between grocery delicatessen filled with cottage cheese or pierogi and majestic monuments of Kościuszko, Polish people have skilfully weaved themselves into London’s cosmopolitan society. As Britain’s biggest ethnic minority (out of people not born in the UK), Polish Londoners drink in Hammersmith’s bars and celebrate Andrzejki in Kensington’s restaurants. They can be both the construction worker you meet on a walk or the elegant lady in a long, black coat. Some of them celebrate tradition, sewing eagles (Poland’s coat of arms) into their patriotic hoodies, and some embrace modernity, wearing luxurious Chylak or Magda Butrym balaclavas, bags, and dresses.
In a photoshoot produced exclusively for Shift, stylist Iga Trydulska joins photographer Oliwia Kozłowska, make-up artist Miriam Wrona and model Alicja Wojciechowska in an effort to visually represent all the diversity of Polonia – Polish diaspora. Folk elements fuse with sleek aesthetics, portraying the complex nature of cross-country lives.
This editorial was published on shift's website: https://www.shiftlondon.org/fashion/polish-community-in-london-editorial/.
Photography: Oliwia Kozłowska
Styling: Iga Trydulska
Make-up: Miriam Wrona
Model: Alicja Wojciechowska
