The Graphic Dress – Krystof Strozyna

Sometimes you enter a store with no intentions of buying anything because you’re trying to stave off from any unnecessary purchase.

But there it was. A dress you haven’t expected to see or touch. But you did. And upon feeling up the dress your fingers elicit this electrical feeling when you realize that this was no ordinary dress nor was it flimsy and thin like the rest of them. No. This dress yelled structure. Understatement. Graphically conscious. And a perfect sizing. My God. I had to try it on.

I was a Reborn in the Old Port in Montreal, out on a stroll to work off my hefty breakfast of crepes, bacon and sausage. The store’s lil mascot of the day was a white French Bulldog, a cute little bugger who licked my leg while I was looking through the racks of stylish blacks. It was like she knew that I was going to buy something before I even knew it.

The dress didn’t have a price tag, all the more that I could indulge myself in a fantasy to try it on anyway. It was by little known Polish designer, Krystof Strozyna. He made quite a name for himself in Europe but virtually unheard of in North America, let alone Canada, except at Reborn. An MA graduate from St-Martin’s in 2007, he made his debut at London Fashion Week last year.

Oh les amis, it was like a dream. I slipped it on, it was snug as a glove, but stiff enough to keep its structure (and I’m a huge fan for structured, hearty, heavy dresses), and I preened and primped immediately in front of the mirror. It hugged every curve I had without it being vulgar. A black sleeveless little number that had these flesh colored geometrical shapes going down on each side in the front, and lightly flipped out like a piece of origami paper. The bust wasn’t so tight that it was crushing my boobs, but I was glad I didn’t have much of a chest, there’s not much room for expansion.

The back is a simple visible metal zipper with a pull tab on each end. The bottom pull tab allowed for more room to move your legs, it was somewhat of a challenge to sit comfortably with the dress on, so having that bottom pull tab was a good option to have.

The dress is Made in Poland, made of 96% viscose, 4% elastane with a 100% silk lining. Honestly for the quality of the dress, I was expecting something over $2000 CAD, but it was half that, which in fashion terms, is a bargain. Were it an Azzedine Alaïa dress, it would’ve been out of my budget for sure.

Remember this name, Krystof Strozyna. He’ll be on my list to watch.

Image credit: farfetch.com