FASHION AS PART OF CULTURE
At Risk made in Warsaw, we see fashion as something deeply connected to culture – to art, literature, and even philosophy. The clothes we create are meant to stir emotions, bring back memories and often become a starting point for conversation. Risk attracts remarkable personalities, but it also “dresses” cultural institutions. When you visit the Teatr Wielki – Opera Narodowa in Warsaw, the entire front-of-house team welcomes you wearing Risk. We have also designed outfits for the team of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum and have been a long-standing partner of the Chopin Festivals. We curated an exhibition on Leopold Tyrmand at the Museum of Literature and designed costumes for numerous theatre productions and operas. Our Łowicz-inspired ball gown is part of the collection of the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, and we have even had the honour of dressing Olga Tokarczuk’s team for the Nobel Prize reception – something we are especially proud of.
SELF CARE FASHION
However, for Antosia, the founder of Risk, designing is not only about telling stories, but above all about supporting women in their daily lives. "Clothes affect how others perceive us, but - most importantly - how we perceive ourselves," says Antosia. A Risk garment has one task: to boost your self-confidence. It's a given - if you like yourself, feel good about yourself, you are kinder to yourself and your surroundings. You experience completely different things, you usually have a better attitude and a better day. "It doesn't matter what the trends, stylists' guidelines, golden rules or fashion commandments are - the garment has to pass one basic test - you put it on, look in the mirror and smile," says Antosia.
LET'S DO IT TOGETHER
Our clients often say that no one designs like us. And that's because they not only wear, but also co-create Riska with us – they submit ideas, needs, and improvements. We exchange thoughts and views, and in the boutique, we chat about both trivial and important topics. Because we know how they live, we not only think about the garment's appearance but also design the experience of wearing it. We make sure our dresses have pockets that can fit necessary small items (or just hands :)). We make things from elastic materials so that – even when your size fluctuates within a month – you can still feel great in your favorite dress. We design necklines for both temptation and breastfeeding. All materials are either invented or sourced with sensitive skin in mind. One dermatologist even said that for sensitive skin, he would prescribe Riska. ;)
"WARSAW IS MINE, AND I AM HERS"
We travel a lot, but what we like most is coming back home – to Warsaw. We are driven by the people who create this city – those who live here, but also those who only pass through. "I have a devotion to Warsaw in my blood. My great-grandfather, Marcin Weinfeld, designed the second tallest skyscraper in Europe before the war, which was a symbol of the capital – the Prudential, now the Hotel Warszawa. After the war, after Dachau, he decided to return to Warsaw, where a lot of work awaited him. He served as the head of the department in the Ministry of Reconstruction. Our boutique is literally a stone's throw from the Prudential. When I'm struggling with something, I always look at it and think: if my great-grandfather could rebuild that bombed-out skyscraper, then there's really no such thing as 'it can't be done,'" says Antosia.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The brand idea was born in 2011. The concept was simple — combine classic hoodies with all cuts associated with discomfort: suits, pencil skirts, tailcoats, or super elegant evening creations. Antosia invited her friend Klara Kowtun to the project; at first, they sewed everything from grey tracksuits — even wedding dresses. For over a decade, they worked together and created many unforgettable designs. Today, Antosia works at Szpitalna with an amazing team of committed, creative people. Together, we brainstorm clothes, source the best components (did you know our buttons are often hand-dyed?), materials, and then find sewing factories that will sew our designs with uncompromising quality. We implement ideas for new initiatives, create original prints, and constantly dream of new fashion stories. Below, you can read about our various joint projects with people, institutions, and people-institutions. ;)
In 2024, we had a collective exhibition of our work at the Grand Theatre - National Opera. It was a review of our fashion journalism, in one place, at one time. 2,500 people attended the vernissage.
We have a lot in common with the Smallna studio. The owner, Piotr Płoski, designed two of our stores, as well as this pop-up shop, which won a prestigious award in the international A'Design Award competition. 450 kg of steel, 600 hours of work, 200 meters of tubing - that's what it took to create our mobile store based on the iconic Niewiadów trailer, which allowed us to sell tracksuits from the trailer - wherever we went. ;)
Since 2022, we have been dressing the audience services department of the Grand Theatre – National Opera. Especially for this occasion, we created a print inspired by the lunar ceiling of the Stanisław Moniuszko Auditorium.
For the 2021 Polityka Passports awards ceremony, together with the Polish-Belarusian artist and activist Jana Shostak, we created a garment-monument in a gesture of solidarity with those who have suffered under Lukashenka's regime. The dress features portraits of 1200 Belarusian political prisoners.
Based on fabric scraps found in the collections of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, we recreated prints from 100 years ago that "emerged" from the archives onto the streets. Pictured are journalist Karolina Sulej-Kubik and singer, DJ Julia Bosski in suits featuring a pattern found in a fabric sample book from Karol Steinert's Łódź factories for the winter season, from the mid-1930s.
A fashion show on a tightrope? Yes, we did it. Or rather, not us, but a group of athletes who – in elegant (yet comfortable like tracksuits ;)) risky clothes – walked on a tightrope suspended above our courtyard on Szpitalna Street.
In 2020, the Risk for Love line was created as part of a collaboration between Risk and the Campaign Against Homophobia. Our collection featured models who were couples friendly with us, showcasing different facets of love—regardless of gender, age, or relationship type.
We dressed Olga Tokarczuk's team for the Nobel Prize award ceremony. Here in our Warsaw boutique.
We are the designers of costumes for numerous theatrical and operatic productions. Pictured here are the psychedelic costumes for Peter Eötvös's opera "The Golden Dragon," presented as part of the Opera Rara Festival 2022.
Our projects were adorned with quotes about freedom (including a paraphrase of a fragment of a poem by Ernest Bryll) by artist and activist Paweł Żukowski, using original Letraset sheets popular in the 1970s and 80s. This technique allowed people to create flyers, fanzines, album covers, and underground publications at home.
The dress we designed, featuring a print inspired by Łowicz folk costumes, is an exhibit at the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw.
We regularly host meetings with people from culture and science in our boutique. Our guests have included art historian and curator Anda Rottenberg; writers Agnieszka Drotkiewicz, Sylwia Chutnik, Karolina Sulej, Marek Bieńczyk, Jacek Dehnel; philosopher Prof. Tomasz Stawiszyński; actors Joanna Kulig and Andrzej Chyra; and sociologist and head of Krytyka Polityczna Sławomir Sierakowski.
We were the curators of an exhibition about Leopold Tyrmand. The opening took place on April 3, 2014, and over a thousand people attended. In addition to the exhibition, as part of a happening, we also showcased outfits inspired by those worn by the writer, his friends, and women in the 1950s. All made from grey tracksuit fabric. Suddenly, it turned out that everyone wanted them, so the "Tyrmand" collection was created, which went on sale a few months later. The neon sign designed for this occasion, with a quote from "Dziennik 1954": "I am an obnoxious pedant" written in Tyrmand's handwriting, still hangs above the entrance to our boutique in Warsaw.