A Brief Look: The Costumes of Agnieszka Osipa

 

 

Poland based costume designer Agnieszka Osipa creates a wardrobe for another world. Another time. Her creations turn modern women into mythic royalty — protectors of ancient lands. When photographed the truth of her costumes come to light — Osipa’s work is a character unto itself. Fellow Polish artist Marcin Nagraba routinely acts as Osipa’s photographer. Together they place fierce and intriguing faces into Osipa’s corsets and headdresses — her unique brand of regalia, and in turn build a body of portraiture that manifests itself as a narrative both internal and epic.

Osipa’s materials and process go mostly unadvertised on her social media feeds on Facebook or Instagram. The viewer can guess at the core construction elements; beads, plastics, metals — but those facts don’t matter. They don’t make her work what it is. It goes beyond materials. Without seeing the process from idea to completion, once the final piece is finished and photographed — the impact is immediate. Her work is intense. From a thumbnail image you feel their weight. Physical and emotional.

The women that wear Osipa’s artistry grow larger within her costumes, they add their history to that which Osipa creates, making her work a true collaboration between costumer, photographer, and model. The gentlest face grows harsh, wise, fierce. Osipa’s fashions act as armor and uniform, her costumes pull the wearer into her world, prepared to conquer.