St. Mary's students modeled Slavic-inspired designs in newly renovated center for Polish culture; proceeds help Ukrainian refugees
ORCHARD LAKE — One day after International Women’s Day, the Orchard Lake Schools and extended Polish community held a unique celebration of the women in their midst and a shared heritage by hosting “Blooms of Tradition," a fashion show by Recultured Designs.
The March 9 show, featuring the designs of Detroit native Alexandra Lisiecki, whose work is inspired by her Polish heritage, was modeled entirely by women from the local Polish community, including several Orchard Lake students.
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Twenty young women walked the temporary catwalk inside the newly opened Galeria, a building on the Orchard Lake Schools campus that has been recently renovated to display the extensive archive of arts and culture owned by the Polish Institute of Culture and Research, formerly known as the Polish Mission.
The Galeria — an original campus building dating back to its time as the Michigan Military Academy — has transformed over the years from a chapel, a dining hall and an athletic center to its current use as a center for arts and culture, said Ania Bieciuk, associate director for Polonia affairs.
“It is a poignant reminder of the journey our community has embarked on — a testament to the resilience, adaptability and enduring spirit of our Polish forebears,” Bieciuk told the audience before the show. “Being Polish is more than just lineage or heritage — we all know this. It is a living, breathing identity that we carry within each and every one of us, an unbreakable bond that connects us to our ancestors, our traditions and our collective history. It’s a source of immense pride and joy, a wellspring of creativity, resilience and strength that we draw upon in times of celebration and challenge.”
Bieciuk said Lisiecki’s Recultured Designs embody this Polish spirit of creativity and resilience.
“Alexandra weaves together the threads of our past with the vibrant possibilities of the future,” Bieciuk said. “Her designs are a tribute to the beauty and complexity of our Polish identity.”
Founded in 2012, Recultured Designs is based out of San Francisco and is Lisiecki’s love letter to her heritage and Polish roots. Lisiecki said her grandparents, who lived in Poland, were both in the clothing industry.
“This means more to me being in New York Fashion Week,” Lisiecki told the audience after the show. “This evening is definitely more than fashion for me because this is a celebration of something deeper and something more meaningful."
“A favorite quote that I found recently by a science fiction writer says, ‘Folklore is like a knot that binds us to our ancestors,’” Lisiecki added. “This is why I do what I do. I am not a particular lover of fashion — I am a lover of folklore and my heritage, so I try to create pieces that are timeless and that you can wear for years.”
Lisiecki’s designs are more than just chic Slavic-inspired folk fashion, however; every garment is crafted by internally displaced war refugees from Ukraine, providing them with a means of income — a cause important to the Polish Institute, Bieciuk explained.
Near the end of the evening, Bieciuk announced the institute’s Ukrainian Relief Fund had reached a record amount of $108,466. The institute began the fund in April 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. The funds have been sent to charitable organizations in Poland that offer humanitarian assistance and aid to the Ukrainian refugees who have crossed their borders.
“Through the Ukrainian Relief Fund and Alexandra's compassionate work with Ukrainian refugees, we reaffirm our dedication to the principles of solidarity, empathy and community that are at the heart of Polish ethos," Bieciuk added, encouraging those present to donate to the fund.
The choice to host a fashion show on campus featuring Orchard Lake’s female students is also testament to how far the school has come, Orchard Lake Schools officials and students reflected to Detroit Catholic.
In 2020, St. Mary's Preparatory opened its doors to its first all-girls class, a major move after 135 years as an all-boys school. The first class, which began with 48 girls, will graduate this spring. The girls school now enrolls more than 300 students, including senior Reece McNutt, one of the first female students to enroll, who walked in the fashion show.
“It’s been a big blessing to come here and be part of the first girls class at the school,” McNutt told Detroit Catholic. “I think it’s really important that we have women here, and it’s been an amazing experience.”
McNutt, who is 50 percent Polish, said participating in the fashion show helped her feel closer to her Polish roots.
“Wearing the dresses and being around all the Polish speakers today and the Polish food helped me feel a stronger connection to my Polish heritage,” McNutt said. “This is something I want to pursue more in the future; my friend told me it wasn’t too late to start learning Polish.”
Before the show began, Bieciuk addressed the mostly female audience. Being a woman is a source of joy and pride, she said, and the fashion show, the women in it, are a tribute to all that women embody.
“Women are bearers of life, architects of society and harbingers of change,” Bieciuk said. “This gathering is a tribute to the strength, grace and resilience that women embody. It’s a celebration of our ability to nurture, to heal, to unite — qualities that are the very bedrock of our Polish community and our shared humanity.
"Let us revel in the beauty of our traditions, the strength of our community and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead," she added. "This is a celebration of all that we are, all that we have been and all we aspire to be."
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