Magda Butrym wants to create a vibe – or more like a spell. “That feeling when you walk into a room; it’s candle-lit, it feels melancholic and romantic. There’s poetry in the air. I can say: ‘This is Magda Butrym’ without my pieces being there at all,” Butrym explains. We sit in a similarly ambient and low-lit space as the one she’s envisioning, but there is a rack of her latest collection present. A decade into her eponymous label, known for its feminine details, corsage motifs, and allegiance to Slavic craftsmanship, world-building is the name of the game for the Polish designer. The pieces in the room, part of her collaboration with H&M, cultivate these ideas too.
This is the first time the Swedish high street dominator has collaborated with a Polish designer in its 20-year history. It’s a ripe opportunity to “amplify and celebrate a very special independent designer,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor at H&M, bringing Butrym into a storied legacy of collaborations that include Simone Rocha, Martin Margiela, and Comme des Garçons..
“I was looking back through the history, from Paco Rabanne to me: You have the minimal, the ’70s, then I come along with the melancholy, the couture corsage, the candles,” says Butrym, whose codeword during the secretive design process was “Bloom.” (Simone Rocha’s was “Pearl”). To help bridge these two worlds of hers, Butrym worked on the campaign and styling with longtime collaborator, stylist Jacob K.
This has also been a rare moment for Butrym to look back at her own archive, reacquainting herself with dormant designs and focusing on the key hallmarks of the brand. Born in Silesia, a town hours outside of Poland’s capital Warsaw, Butrym was once an LVMH-prize finalist, and has found fans in Selena Gomez, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Dua Lipa. This week, she debuted her ready-to-wear on the Paris Fashion Week official schedule.
“Fashion is so fast,” Butrym says. “I did things a little differently with H&M. Not in terms of the clothes, but my day-to-day practice. I thought of my archive and I wondered what my friends and clients love the most, what they dream of, what they keep in the wardrobe. How do I share those key pieces that connect a new audience to my brand? This was an opportunity to meditate.” It all began when Johansson and Butrym were connected through a mutual Polish friend in Paris. “Magda was top of my list of dream collaborators,” says Johansson, “We talked about how rare it is with female creators creating a brand over 10 years and keeping its integrity. The storytelling from standout pieces are there.”
“As a designer working in Warsaw, I can feel like a bit of an outsider. I’m very private, I don’t have Instagram. To know that the vision of my brand connects with others filled me with strength and confidence. That Slavic crochet can be so celebrated, to me, is so special,” the designer says.
The collection percolates in Butrym’s signature details and silhouettes. “Everything out there has gotten quite homogenous,” she says. “And every brand has a black blazer. What do you create around it? That’s what I’m always thinking.” There’s a dramatic, red ruffle mini-dress that looks like a fresh rose bouquet, and tailored suits are lined with jacquard; while silk headscarves speak to the Polish feminine. One hat and scarf combo gives the brand a new sense of youthfulness. “It’s the young Slavic look – someone on my team, much younger than me, said it was cool!,” Butrym adds.
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The fulcrum is always Slavic craftsmanship, which led Butrym’s conversations with H&M. There was to be as little compromise on fabrications. “I was genuinely surprised by the quality of the first samples,” she says. This plays out in certified wools, leather, and organic cottons. Butrym and H&M’s pattern and design teams came together – despite the fact Butrym’s lead pattern cutter doesn’t speak English. “They found a way to communicate,” she says. “We were gossiping close by in the studio and saw them working it out together, the universal language of creating.”
Over the years, pieces from these H&M collaborations have become collectibles – even down to the packaging. (Butrym’s is a sumptuous, petal red.) She already sees a pair of delicate strappy sandals with flowers blooming from the perspex heels as possible collectibles. “I think of them like my Sex and the City shoes,” she says, “I see Carrie in them, and I see them on a girl’s shelf, like a museum piece, too.” It was also important for accessories to be accessible points into the brand, like the familiar floral earrings with crystals. “You can create the Magda look with just a little,” she says. “But I am always thinking about the power of the full, feminine look.”
“I think about people’s wardrobes so often,” Butrym says, reflecting. “It is a mission to make something people want to keep nowadays. I want to be a part of their lives, and one singular piece can achieve that. I see many lives living through this collection I couldn’t even have imagined before.”
Magda Butrym H&M: Femininity in Bloom available at hm.com and select stores April 24th.
