The first cover of Vogue Poland, a tribute to the legacy of the PRL
The first cover of Vogue Poland certainly goes down in history as one of the most controversial covers in Polish press. What divided the audience? Was it Anja Rubik and Gosia Bela, the Palace of Culture, which for many is a symbol of Soviet domination in the second half of the 20th century, or perhaps the black Volga associated with Soviet security services?
Or maybe it was about the grayness, fog, and smog that dominated the premiere cover, disappointing those who were expecting a color confetti and a vibrant celebration of the first Polish edition of the famous magazine?
The Vogue cover certainly didn't belong to those that win readers' hearts by storm. However, it was more symbolic than it might seem. Its hidden message was centered on what is now selling best in fashion: the Soviet heritage that shaped architecture, cities, and fashion in Western and Central Europe.
PRL fashion, what was it like?
What was in the PRL? The fashion of this era in Poland was a time of great improvisation, alterations, and inventing ways to create an original creation. For material for a dress or a coat one had to fight, and in the housing estates, the omnipresent tracksuit was in fashion.
PRL style outfits were, on the one hand, about altering whatever you got in a parcel from abroad, and on the other, wearing whatever was simply available.
Track suits, leather jackets with drawstrings, sweatshirts, pointy shoes, and wide trousers with pockets are the legacy left behind by PRL fashion. Although this style is mainly associated with the 90s in Poland, in other Soviet countries it was present a decade earlier. It was during this period that designers were raised who, a few years later, started the great boom of Eastern European fashion.
PRL - fashion that amazed the West
Their leader is certainly Demna Gvasalia, a Georgian, who today owns the hottest name in the fashion industry. The founder of the Vetements brand, as well as the creative director of Balenciaga, consistently introduced to the catwalk an entirely new quality that the Western world had never seen before.
What, for many of us, seems like a return to the nostalgic last two decades of the 20th century, in Western Europe and the United States, turned out to be new, and everyone on the trend hunt went crazy about it.
So what does 'Sovietchic' mean today? It's a chic that has nothing in common with famous Parisian chic, because it's all about embracing ugliness and creating unexpected combinations in outfits. Sovietchic is a complete outfit based on what was once found in the wardrobe, focusing on ruined jackets, worn-out trousers, baggy sweatshirts, and caps with bent peaks. PRL style outfits can be seen in almost every collection of the Vetements brand, as well as in the new, entirely surprising incarnation of the Balenciaga fashion house, which Gvasalia consistently leads since the first day of taking the position of the artistic director.
Sovietchic in the versions of Vetements, Balenciaga, and MISBHV
What else does the legacy of the PRL look like? Fashion of this era also inspires designers like Gosha Rubchinskiy. The Moscow-born designer has currently suspended his activity, but in the last few seasons, he significantly contributed to the popularity of fashion for clothing in the Soviet style. This fashion is also evident in collections of the Polish brand MISBHV, which wisely uses the trend for Eastern European fashion and thanks to this is included in comparisons of world brands that are worth having in your wardrobe.
