I like designing womenswear, but I also enjoy experimenting with menswear, which I find very challenging. In menswear, I am trying to work with very traditional ideas, but to incorporate an experimental approach. College has had a significant impact on both my art and my fashion work, as I have come to appreciate a close relationship between the two disciplines, and I am now able to integrate some incredible textile manipulation techniques, which can drastically change the visual and tactile qualities of the fabric. The fact that these textile manipulations become wearable art, and can be worn on the street as well as the catwalk, gives me a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction

I like working with all available media. This includes painting with acrylic or oil paint, drawing with pencils, making physical collages and with working experimentally with Photoshop. As an artist I do try to be as flexible and open-minded as possible. In fashion I feel free to create clothes that are an eclectic expression of my ideas. Fashion Design is for me like sculpting, and that is my attitude every time I work with clothing, whether casual wear collections or avant-garde.

A proud member of the fashion industry I become relatively late and by pure coincidence. After seeing one alternative fashion show with a friend artist we have created an art collective. Trying to attract the audience we wanted to invite fashion designers to showcase during our experimental events. Unfortunately, at the time nobody wanted to cooperate with us so our first fashion show was with my hand-painted t-shirts and dresses. It started my exciting journey with all the steps of fashion. I was a host including projects in the Embassy of Poland and the Embassy of Tanzania), backstage manager, fashion designer, even make-up artist and body painter.

Personally, I think fashion is the highest level of art, where the catwalk show combines elements of the theatre in which actors are models who are moving on the stage as living sculptures. And there is always music in the background.

​Erwin Michalec - Graduate of:

London College of Contemporary Arts  - Higher National Certificate - Art & Design (Fashion & Textiles).

Barnfield College Luton - Art & Design ( Fashion Pathways) Higher National Diploma  (Distinctions) Specialization - Menswear.

Kingston College - Art & Design - (Top Up BA (Hons) Upper Second Class - Kingston University).

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Polish born artist, sculptor and textile designer specialized in unique hand painted fabrics and digitally modified textiles for industrial production. 

With Alexandra Shulman - Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue. Ististuto Marangoni London

AS SEEN IN VOGUE ERWIN MICHALEC’S DESIGNS HAVE A MIXED MEDIA OF ETHNIC INFLUENCES. HE IS FASCINATED WITH HAITANIAN VOODOO AND THE STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN POLISH AND HAITIAN. INSPIRED BY THE CARIBBEAN AND AFRICAN CULTURE HAS BECOME A SIGNATURE ELEMENT THROUGHOUT HIS COLLECTIONS.  
Erwin does not use any digital processing throughout the development of his designs for the individual clients and for all his art and fashion shows:
-        The clothing is painted by hand
-       Every design is different and as unique as possible
-       There are not any printed works on any of his dresses presented on the catwalks.
-       It is real paint which is directly applied to the fabric
Creating this kind of fashion is very laborious. These techniques have gained success for Erwin as he gained second place for the Radical Designer Award. 

Erwin Michalec also offers casual printed collections in his virtual boutique. Based on his work, but in a decidedly different style distinguishing his traditional hand painting on fabrics. 

​About​

I identify as a Fashion Designer, who also makes art. My fashion design is inspired by many different things. In the past, I was strongly influenced by African art. A fascination with African culture has been deep within my soul for as long as I recall.. My greatest achievement is that I have an African family and a home in The Gambia and I think I have the right to call myself an African by choice. This is my place on earth, which is my destiny. The symbolic abstract representation seen in tribal masks is frequently noticeable in my art and design; I believe I will keep this influence for all of my life. I have a passion for bright colours, which are typical of African fabrics. Colour is very important in all my collections and I like experimenting with it in a way which is far removed from conventional aesthetic standards. I embrace visual and creative chaos in everything I do.