SIREN 2026

SIREN: ARCHIVE OF ABSENCE

Syrenka 305 Dewsbury Road, Leeds, United Kingdom

“SIREN” draws on the autobiographical experience of my parents’ migration to Leeds, their life in a Polish enclave, and the sense of being a “Euro-orphan” that I experienced as a teenager left behind in Poland. One of the starting points is my mother’s work at a Polish grocery store and her place within the local working class. The second figure of absence is my father—formerly a sailor, later a paver in various parts of Europe. His life story introduces nautical motifs and references to uniforms into the project.

Work clothes and secondhand tracksuits are juxtaposed with lace curtains, medallions, coats made of patchwork leather, and forms evoking wedding dresses, liturgical vestments, and the kontusz. On one of the pieces, a Polish eagle appears, resembling a scar. The constructions are hybrid in nature: they do not conform to the traditional division between women’s and men’s clothing, and a single silhouette can refer to extremely diverse social roles, classes, and cultural orders.

The Mermaid of the title—a historical symbol of Warsaw, once depicted with animal and dragon-like features—becomes a figure of identity composed of disparate, often contradictory elements. Polish identity functions here like a wardrobe worn out over the years: worn to work, taken out for celebrations, packed into a suitcase, shipped in a cardboard box, unstitched, and sewn back together.

The collection is being created as part of the “Young Poland” fellowship from the National Center for Culture. It was first presented in London during the “LIMITS – Polish Visionaries” event, organized by the Institute of Creative Industries as part of London Fashion Week 2026.