THE BRAND
RAD DUET was founded in 2017 by two polish fashion designers Maciej Józwicki and Juliusz Rusin. The designers of the brand based in Poznan, Poland are mainly inspired by polish culture, identity, social changes, history, and stereotypes. While designing RAD DUET has a very hands-on approach that often results in either creating unique solutions or reviving old craft techniques. They create or modify materials themselves, they like to use unconventional materials and recycle and upcycle fabrics.
RAD DUET strongly believes in quality and craftsmanship, constantly blurring the lines between the past and the future by creating timeless pieces. The brand's name derives from Maria Skłodowska-Curie - the only woman in history to win the Nobel Prize twice. RAD DUET creates for people looking for innovative, conscious, and fun fashion.
After quite a few initial successes, a real breakthrough moment for the brand came in 2019 with the release of the "Wiesia" collection, when an acclaimed polish influencer Jessica Mercedes wore their hand-painted set with flowers inspired by Włocławek faience during Paris Fashion Week. Photos from the event were widely published around the world including on the American Vogue Instagram account.
"Wiesia" went on to win all of the important fashion and design awards in Poland and has been repeatedly called in the media one of the most important collections in the history of Polish fashion and designers were described as pioneers of Polish couture. In the hardships of the global pandemic in 2020, RAD DUET decided to focus on presenting a ready-to-wear interpretation of the "Wiesia" collection called "Kuyavian Home". The campaign for the collection starring Wiesława (83 y.o.), Maciej's grandmother after whom the previous collection was named, became another viral moment for RAD DUET on social media.
In 2021, together with leading Polish Drag artist and activist Shady Lady, they created "Sawa", a similarly successful project. By the end of 2021 silhouettes from the "Wiesia" collection were purchased by three museums: Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, Museum Kashubian Ethnographic Park in Wdzydze and Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum in Warsaw."Sawa" was also bought by the Museum of Warsaw.
In early 2022 RAD DUET represented Poland at Expo in Dubai with a project called "Kowalski in Space", and December saw a premiere of the highly anticipated"Irena".The collection which took almost 3 years to make due to its scale and couture ambitions met instant success and its campaign was widely praised in the polish fashion industry as one of the bests of the year. "Irena" is the second instalment of a trilogy named after important women for designers.
THE COLLECTION
The "Maria" collection is the third and last part of our names trilogy dedicated to important women in our lives. The collection is inspired by Maria Skłodowska-Curie. The collection includes strong feminist motifs, optical art, and metallic and fluorescent elements. The collection is a glorification of science, gaining knowledge, and self-improvement. This is our proposal for a modern superhero.