Heritage
Shawl with Wilanów-style Embroidery
In collaboration with embroiderer Marianna Król we created a shawl that reinterprets traditional ones worn locally. It is adorned with Wilanów-style embroidery which uses only black or brown thread. The embroidery is always based on floral motifs, which often join to form a tree of life, a symbol of the cyclical rebirth in nature. In 2020 Wilanów-style embroidery was included in Poland’s national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Bobowa Lace Collection
I’ve always been enamored with bobbin lace as a form, but I’m just as awed by the beautiful and incredibly time-consuming process of making it.
Łemko Collection
Today, what interests me most in my work is combining the old and the new. I try to translate these often forgotten customs into contemporary language.
Żywiec Collection
To mark the 10th anniversary of the brand we’re excited to present our new project: Chylak Heritage, a line of unique, handmade, and traditionally-inspired accessories.
By working with artisans and museums, our hope is to showcase historical customs and local culture. We launched the project with a mini collection of accessories inspired by the traditional outfits of the city of Żywiec in Southern Poland, which enchanted us with their exquisite tulle embroidery, and which also served as the setting for our spring campaign. As part of our work in Żywiec, local artisan Małgorzata Ostrowska created for us hand-sewn and embroidered ruffs and collars. Work on one collar takes as long as two weeks, making them one-of-a-kind and their run limited.
The second line of accessories in our Heritage collection were inspired by elements of the traditional outfit of the Lemko people, an ethnic minority in southeastern Poland: embroidered scarves, necklaces, decorative shoe clips, and scrunchies. I’m particularly enamored by the way Lemko women arranged multiple layers of cascading strands on their necks and décolletage. Thus the motif for this collection became natural pearls, which we decided to use to adorn our accessories - Zofia Chylak
The third line of accessories was inspired by the rich tradition of bobbin-lacemaking from Bobowa, a small town in southern Poland.
I am very sentimental. I was raised on beautiful family stories, rooting my own identity in my grandmothers’ memories. I am endlessly curious about fashion and its symbolism in times past. Thus the idea for Chylak Heritage was born.