Burlesque fetish costume designer & artisté Agnieszka Osipa
A perfectionist, a burlesque fashion artist, and a fetish costume designer, Agnieszka Osipa is ready to give the world a taste of her avant-garde interpretation of fashion.
Her elaborate headpieces and costume designs are flawless and grand.
This Polish designer draws inspiration from painting and folklore. While growing up she loved folklore and felt inspired by the Eastern European tradition and culture.
“Yes they are often added to my design process. This is where I am from, and I feel that Slavic culture is often regarded as minor compared to other cultures of the world, I try to change that by showing how rich and inspiring it can be, when you really dig into it. I search legends, demonology, and fairy tales from the Eastern region of Europe and try to include the forms and symbols into what I make.”
When asked to interpret her designs however, Agnieszka refused to say a word, explaining that:
“I really like to leave that to the viewer, it is often surprising to me how the pieces might be received. For example a lot of fetish web pages tend to share my work, and going in this direction was never in my thoughts during the design process.”
The costumier believes that the best way to transfer a mood and feelings is through music, and for the most part that is where her inspiration comes from.
The world-famous folklore band DakhaBrakha accompanied her graduating fashion design Diploma project from the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Poland. The quartet which originally hails from Kyiv, Ukraine is Agnieszka’s favourite one to date. They are an experimental Ukrainian folk music band that likes to combine the sounds of Ukrainian folklore music with the sounds of traditional Arabic, African, Australian, Indian, and Russian instruments.
This powerful instrumental group fits in well with Agnieszka’s exotic theme rooted in Eastern European folklore.
The countries she believes best interpret her work are from the same region and include Russia (Moscow in particular) and Norway. She adores the ornaments and the richness of the Russian culture. The Norwegian legends of elaborately armoured warriors also deeply inspire her.
Yet, inspiration alone is not what got her where she is today. The costume designer had to work very hard to attain the level of stylistic abilities she exhibits today.
“I think all of the design directions require a lot of hard work and a lot of failures. Looking back at my older designs is really annoying, I can see all of my mistakes and they anger me with their existence. Therefore I often destroy my older collections or recycle them into something new,” says Agnieszka.
She believes that talent can be passed down through one’s genetic code, but makes it a point to mention that talented people often put off the hard work that is required to develop and succeed. In her experience talent alone is not enough:
“So I tend to work an average of 12 hours a day every day, no weekends and free days.”
Perhaps that is the real talent. Abilities are developed through hard work and they continually grow with experience.
Designing pieces is an extremely dynamic process and Agnieszka usually has no idea how each masterpiece will turn out. Her goal is to interpret and convey the mood of the Slavic culture as a whole, while entwining various eastern European folklore elements into her designs.
She loves to work with leather. It is a tough material to work with, yet it has many possibilities, she says. It is also extremely difficult to learn how to use it properly, which is a challenge the designer likely enjoys.
Agnieszka’s favourite pieces are her newest ones. As her stylistic abilities mature, her older compositions seem flawed and drab she says.
She is a true perfectionist, whose love of design grew naturally she worked at exposing her artwork. ‘Agnieszka Osipa Costumes’ is a company the designer established following numerous photo shoots.
“By accident I must say, I tried to show my designs by working with different photographers and getting exposure. As more time passed it transferred from a tool to a goal and now I enjoy making costumes especially for photographers and photo shoots. I also received a lot of support from my boyfriend, who told me that this is what I need to do and he will take care of the rest. This paid off in the long run.”
It certainly did, today Agnieszka Osipa’s costumes are coveted by the niche industry. While having financial support is an important factor in achieving success according to the designer, the country one hails from is not.
“I do not make casual fashion and I see that's where most of the competition takes place in Poland. In the era of the Internet the borders can be easily overthrown, so I would not make it a concerning factor, to be in a specific country. If you're talented enough there will always be a way you can make a living off your work.”
True enough, Agnieszka’s headpiece portraits can be seen at the Paris SIlmo 2014 Expo. Artists such as Sariola, Ensiferum, and Insomnium also display her pieces in their music videos. One of her costumes is even featured on the music CD cover of the well-known artist Faun. Not to mention the countless print publications in which the fashion designer’s attire is shown.
Agnieszka’s amazing achievements beg the question, what’s in store for her in the future…
“I try not to make plans and just enjoy what I do, this is the most efficient way to keep getting a high level of quality in the outcome.”
Well one thing we can be certain of, is that we’ll be seeing more of this enchanting designer.
Originally published in Belle Exotique, 2014
Photos: Aga Khan Museum, Agnieszka Osipa Costumes @Agnieszkaosipadesigner
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