Magda Butrym is gearing up for a significant season. In September, she will debut on the NYFW runway, having previously presented her collections at PFW as presentations. Building on last year’s successful pop-up, she plans to open a permanent store in SoHo.
On the eve of her vacation, Butrym remarked, “I have to get it all ready before I go on vacation,” with a laugh. Discussing her pre-collection, she stated, “I wanted to just continue our story, keeping the ideas but doing them in a more wardrobe-ish way.” She aims to maintain classic shapes and techniques such as hand-crochet, while introducing new colors, materials, and attitudes.
Butrym remains inspired by Slavic cinema, notably the provocative 1996 Andrzej Żuławski film Szamanka (Shamaness). In it, actress Iwona Petry, at 20, delivered a raw performance in her first lead role, portraying a student in a tumultuous relationship with an older academic. Butrym describes the resulting fashion as “pristine and undone, with a strong sensual streak.”
In the showroom, the brand’s signature leathers stood out, with new versions emerging. For instance, a popular blouson returned as a comfortable wrap in heathered gray wool. Hourglass silhouettes were prevalent across sculptural knitwear and outerwear, frequently adorned with pearls and occasionally accented with faux mink, as seen on a sharp-shouldered, nipped waist peplum jacket in black wool, featuring a removable chestnut-hued fur panel. A gold lamé cocktail suit sparkled like an Oscar statuette. A short jacket in bubble-gum pink jacquard and sculptural bustier dresses reminiscent of Jessica Rabbit made a bold statement in a collection filled with ‘80s-inspired silhouettes.
Butrym also delved further back, taking inspiration from the simple housedress her grandmother wore in the 1960s. She reimagined it as a modern button-front shirtdress in sepia cotton with a white floral print and side ties, styled over a lace-trimmed slip. One standout innovation was the enlargement of crochet techniques, moving away from traditional kerchiefs to create a knee-length skirt or a charming capelet, versatile enough to pair with a t-shirt and jeans or an evening gown.
As Butrym acknowledges, creating everyday clothing while remaining true to the brand is challenging. Although this lookbook leans more towards the dramatic than the everyday, the complete collection spans from versatile leather essentials to work-appropriate outfits and alluring silk pieces. This approach is likely to satisfy her existing clientele while attracting new customers.
