Krystyna Spark

The largest shopping mall near my home is called Galeria Mokotów. Not only is it relatively easy for me to reach but it also happens to have a rather good selection of stores and clothing brands. Unsurprisingly, last week, when my best friend was in town, we decided to stop by and pick up a few last minute Christmas presents. We were walking from one shop to the next when a small photograph depicting a 1950s fashion show, carefully displayed on a little podium, caught my eye. I looked up and saw three enormous black and white posters hanging from the ceiling -- they portrayed fashion photography from the 1960s. I was much perplexed. Only a minute later did it sink in -- I was standing in the middle of a fashion photography exhibition, right in the centre of a shopping mall! The exhibition was designed around a circular rotunda which accommodated one of the many escalators. Along the balustrade small podiums were arranged showcasing Polish fashion photographs from the mid-1950s to 1988.  It was, however, primarily the aforementioned, ceiling-hung blown-up images that caught the curious eyes of passersby. I noticed leaflets strewn around the floor describing the exhibition and its title. (Pictures of the leaflets and the design of the installations are at the end of this post.) From there I learned that the project was part of a newly founded initiative called The Designer Gallery, which is headed by fashion show choreographer Katarzyna Sokołowska. The exhibition itself, however, was curated by Agnieszka Ścibior, leading stylist and creative director at Viva! Moda magazine. After my friend left to catch her bus, I ran back and photographed the entire installation in order to write this blog post, so here we go!

Above: Photograph by Władysław Sławny, Presentation of Polish clothing companies at the Parisian Fairs, Paris, France, May 1973. Forum Archives.