Professor Irena Huml (1928–2015)
25 February – 18 May 2025
Fot. family archive and M. Lorek [NMWr]
Curator of the exhibition: Dr. Małgorzata Możdżyńska-Nawotka
The exhibition presents the fashion biography of Professor Irena Huml, prominent art historian and art critic, highly distinguished for her research on Polish applied arts, in particular textiles and artistic jewellery, one of the initiators of the Legnica Festival SILVER, and a woman widely admired for her iconic personal style and elegance.
The wardrobe of Irena Huml showcased in this exhibition spans over four decades – from the 1950s up to 1990s – i.e. all of the PRL’s history, and at the same time a large part of its owner’s life. It comprises clothes linked to important stages of Professor’s professional career and private life, outfits worn to work and evening wear, in town and on holidays, summer and winter clothes, prêt-à-porter items as well as unique made-to-measure artistic designs.
The exhibition refers to the individual biography, but also highlights the history of clothing in the PRL, together with a wide spectrum of issues connected with the role and functioning of women in that system, prompting questions as to the durability of the pre-war intelligentsia attitudes in the new reality, as well as the emancipation of women and female presence in the academic and artistic world, along with the domestic perception of international trends, and the role played by fashion in the process of modernisation.
The exhibits on show are part of the collections in the National Museum in Wrocław, the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, the District Museum in Konin, the Masovian Museum in Płock, and of private collectors. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.
Exhibition commemorating Professor Dr. Hab. Irena Huml on the 10th anniversary of her death.