Magda Butrym

Sculpting the Feminine Now

words by Nina Calder

Magda Butrym has never designed for the moment—she designs for the women who shape it. In an industry that moves at the speed of trend cycles and shifting algorithms, her work stands apart, rooted in a sensual quietness that refuses to be rushed. There is a deliberateness to her world: the curve of a hand-stitched rose, the tension of draped silk, the whisper of polish in a sharply tailored shoulder. Each piece feels like an artifact of a life entirely inhabited, a life where power is understated, emotional, and deeply personal.

Born in Poland and now defining a global language of modern femininity, Butrym has built a brand that is as intimate as it is architectural. Her designs carry the duality of a woman who understands softness and severity not as contradictions but as coordinates—two points that map the emotional terrain women move through every day. She approaches clothing like a portraitist: attentive to the inner life, the silent declarations, the subtle rebellion in choosing beauty on one’s own terms. What sets her apart is not just craftsmanship—though her devotion to handwork borders on spiritual—it is the way she refuses to dilute instinct. Magda Butrym’s universe is shaped by women who own their presence, who embrace romance without relinquishing authority, who understand that vulnerability and nerve can coexist within a single silhouette. As she enters a new chapter of expansion and influence, Butrym is still guided by the same internal north star: an obsession with authenticity and a belief that clothing can hold emotion the way skin does. In a world obsessed with performance, she offers something more enduring, an invitation to look inward, to feel deeply, and to dress with unapologetic intention.

Your work carries a tension between structured sensuality and delicate romance. When you begin a new collection, what emotional landscape or inner atmosphere do you design from?

I always begin from instinct, not intellect. It’s never about constructing a moodboard – it’s about capturing a feeling, a certain tension in the air. Sometimes it’s a passing moment on the street, a memory, a woman’s posture in a café, whether in Warsaw, Paris, or New York. I’m drawn to duality: softness that carries strength, and structure that still breathes.

Your approach to craft often feels architectural, like building a universe rather than assembling garments. How do you define the architecture of a silhouette?

For me, a silhouette isn’t built – it’s sculpted. It frames emotion around the body, sometimes sharp, sometimes fluid, but always intentional. I want it to hold you, to feel like a memory or a statement you can wear.

Polish heritage and modern femininity intersect in your work in subtle ways. What elements of your cultural background still influence your choices in color, เนื้อสัมผัส, or form?

For me, Polish heritage is all about contrasts: harsh winters and fragile lace, brutalist concrete and women who dress with imagination and style. That tension lives in my palette – deep reds, inky blacks, soft ivories and in textures like crochet, lace, and weaving that are so deeply rooted in our culture. I don’t quote folklore literally. I translate those slavic codes into modern forms like a sharp shoulder, a sculpted coat, a headscarf, all that feels relevant to women today.

You’ve said before that women inspire everything you create. How has your understanding of womanhood—and who you design for—shifted as your brand has grown?

As the brand has grown, I’ve understood even more that womanhood is never one story, but many. Today I design for women of different ages, in different cities, from different backgrounds, who all want to be their own muse. As I say in my brand’s manifesto, “I don’t want to define them”.

I want to give them something that can hold their strength, their sensuality, and their vulnerability at the same time.

There is a softness in your pieces that never loses its edge. How do you balance vulnerability and power within your designs?

For me, softness and power are not opposites – they belong together. I often start from something tender, like a fluid fabric, a bare back, or a rose detail, and anchor it with clarity: a precise line, a bold proportion, a certain attitude. As banal as it sounds, I really believe the right piece can let a woman show her vulnerability and still feel completely in control.

Many designers speak of muses, but your garments seem to reflect lived emotion more than idealized figures. What feelings, gestures, or real-life moments most often drive your design impulses?

I’m obsessed with those in-between moments: a woman adjusting her coat, leaning over a café table, stepping out of a car, and pulling her jacket a bit tighter. It’s the mix of confidence and hesitation, strength and doubt that interests me. These tiny, imperfect gestures are, for me, what a real muse looks like.

The Magda Butrym woman feels both timeless and distinctly contemporary. How do you maintain that duality without leaning into nostalgia or trend?

I’m not interested in clothes that scream one season and then feel wrong. I always ask myself if a woman will still recognise herself in this piece years from now. The timelessness comes from honesty in cut and emotion, while the contemporary side comes from responding to how women live today – their rhythm, their cities, their complexity.

Your work often incorporates handmade details and artisan techniques. What does “craft” mean to you in an era of speed, digital influence, and mass production?

For me, craft is about time, touch, and responsibility. It means working closely with artisans, letting their knowledge shape the piece, and accepting the tiny “imperfections” that make something feel alive. The digital world is fast and flat; craft gives depth – it’s what makes a woman want to keep a piece, not just like it in a scroll.

If each collection is a chapter, what story do you feel you’re writing across your body of work, and what chapter are you entering now?

I know it sounds like I keep repeating myself, but consistency is my mantra. I really believe I’ve been writing one long story about a woman learning to be her own muse – embracing strength and sensitivity, romance and reality, all at once. The early chapters were about defining the codes; now I’m in a more instinctive, personal phase, where I allow myself to be more fearless and vulnerable in the work – it feels less like decorating a woman’s life and more like being invited into her inner world.

As you think about the future of your brand, what questions are you asking yourself creatively or philosophically that you weren’t asking when you first began?

Now I ask myself less “how do I grow?” and more “how do I stay honest while we grow.” As the brand expands beyond online and partner stores, and we prepare to unfold a gigantic project in 2026, I feel an even bigger responsibility to protect intimacy, งานฝีมือ, and emotion at the heart of what we do. Creatively, I’m interested in how to dress women through different times of the day, different stages of their lives, without diluting the very specific point of view that started this journey.