As you shop in Warsaw – or any major city, really – you’re likely to encounter a lot of the same type of clothing: so-called “fast fashion.” We all know the type: clothing that hangs at odd angles, that rips easily, that often looks the same, that’s mass-produced in unethical ways. We’ve gotten used to it, even.
But that’s why two friends, Antonina and Klara, with an eye for design and a desire for better clothing, stepped in and created RISK Made in Warsaw.
Walk past their boutique on ul. Szpitalnia 6a and it’s easy to see how RISK is different. Inside their shop, located just off a popular plaza and a short walk from one of the most popular streets in town (Nowy Świat), you’ll find dresses bursting with colorful, unique patterns. You’ll try on jackets and skirts that cut in at flattering angles and give you timeless silhouettes. You’ll feel fabric that’s so comfortable, it puts the polyester clothing you find at many shops to shame.
If you go in autumn, you’ll find an exciting new collection that hearkens back to the 1950s (more on that below). But for many visitors to RISK, it’s the backstory and the concept – along with the clothing – that really cements this store as one of the best clothing shops in Warsaw… and the world.
How it Started
RISK started 13 years ago with a white t-shirt. Well, really it was a white t-shirt that Klara had emblazoned with a red sewn heart and gifted to Antonina for her birthday, complete with an embroidered label. That shirt and what it represented – something handmade and made well – gave birth to a new concept for the friends who started considering the idea of clothing that thinks outside the box.
The next breakthrough came in the form of a grey hooded sweatshirt. So many other clothing staples had found their place in modern fashion and had been repurposed and re-developed numerous times over. But who has ever tried to repurpose the grey sweatshirt?
So, armed with an idea, the friends created the RISK brand and its first collection: women’s jackets, dresses and more, all sewn from that comfy grey sweatshirt fabric. Over the course of 10 weeks, the women devoted all their time and energy to the idea. They didn’t have much in the way of funding, but they had a lot in the way of enthusiasm. At the core of their concept was a simple question: why sacrifice comfort for beauty? Why not have both?
As the brand grew, they started collaborating with clothing manufacturers from Łódź to produce sweatshirts and fabrics especially for their needs: tracksuit-like wool, tracksuit-like silk and velvet and more. They showed tracksuit wedding dresses at the National Stadium in Warsaw and their brand began to take off, bringing elegance and comfort to a much larger stage.
“We still love making things in which people not only look gorgeous, but above all, they feel divine,” the friends said about their brand.
Bikinar and Beauty
After a more than a decade, the friends are professionals at making clothes that smack of elegance and timelessness but feel comfy enough to wear to bed. And nothing is a better indication of that than their newest collection, Bikinary, which reaches back to 1950s and takes inspiration from the style of Polish novelist, Leopold Tyrmand and the subculture “bikiniarze.”
The term described men and women who did not conform to cultural norms and reflected that in their clothing, with items like wide-shouldered jackets, narrow trousers, and more. “We take on their anti-system suits,” said the friends, adding that their modern take on the bikiniarze culture and fashion is about “outsmarting the system with a bit of elegant extravagance.”
Suits for this collection are made from soft, knitted fabrics; their pants are flexible, airy and figure-slimming with chic prints; work outfits look professional but feel like tracksuit fabric. A favorite of the new collection is “an ethereal and minimalist, slightly oversized shirt made of premium vegan knitwear in a pearl shade of white” along with smart, brightly patterned shirts for women that reflect palm trees, tropical islands and more.
The Proof is in the Fabric
It’s not just the bikiniarze line that draws a lot of eyes to RISK. In fact, many of their clothes are designed with pattern and feel in mind. The fabrics that RISK chooses are well thought-out for a number of reasons.The first is the feel. As the friends say, they like “contradictions” – meaning ultra-elegant cuts made of soft knit fabric. The ultimate test, according to Klara and Antonina, is that the wearer should feel so comfortable, they’re able to sleep in the clothes.
That doesn’t just come from the soft fabrics, but from the tailoring too. Each item feels tailored specifically to its wearer and their needs. Their skirts have super elastic rubber to prevent cutting into your sides; the hems use traditional tailoring that hasn’t been rushed like the ones often sold in fast-fashion stores. But putting aside the feel of the fabric and the outfits, it’s the patterns that really pack a punch.
RISK is very thoughtful about what patterns they use, with some reflecting pieces of Polish history, others referencing important artists, and still more that speak to our collective feelings of nostalgia and whimsy. One 2017 collection used flower prints based on watercolors painted for RISK by a Polish artist from Silesia. Another collection in 2019 used prints designed by Polish designer Paweł Palikot and based on the colors of traditional Łowicz folk costumes.Another collection in 2020 used the inkblots and the Rorschach test as inspiration for patterns of abstract, colorful stains. Still other collections have referenced Polish folk art, Polish countryside scenes, and even one collection in 2022 that was based off tattoos seen on residents around Warsaw.
Overall, between the elegant styles, the locally sourced fabrics and production, and the gorgeous (not to mention comfy) fabrics, what’s not to love about RISK?
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