In 2003, a photograph appeared on the cover of Wysokie Obcasy, a model wearing nothing but a hand-crocheted thong made from traditional Polish lace. The reaction was immediate and fierce.

The village of Koniaków, nestled in the Beskidy Mountains of southern Poland, had been producing intricate crochet lace since the 19th century. The craft had adorned church altars. It had been presented to Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II. And now, it was being shaped into lingerie.

The elders were outraged. The local clergy called it profanation. The National Artistic and Ethnographic Commission refused to grant the pieces official “folk art” status. But the world noticed.

 

The World Calls

Within months, journalists descended on Koniaków, a small mountain village with no traffic lights and one main road winding through the Beskids. TIME Magazine wrote about “Poland’s Racy, Lacy Secret.” The Wall Street Journal ran a feature. The Chicago Tribune, Le Monde, AP. They all came.

We launched koniakow.com that same year. E-commerce was still in its infancy, but orders started coming in: from Germany, the UK, the United States, Japan. A handmade lace thong cost around $30, took days to make by hand, and there was a waiting list.

German boutiques became early buyers. Television crews arrived from as far as Japan. Discovery Channel later featured the craft on “How Do They Do It?”

The lacemakers had a simple answer to the controversy: “There’s no shame in doing this. Shame would be stealing. This is work.”

 

From the Mountains to Paris Fashion Week

The fashion world took longer to arrive. But when it did, it came in force.

In 2018, Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons presented a bridal tailcoat incorporating Koniaków lace at Paris Fashion Week. It was the first time the craft had appeared on a runway of that caliber.

Then came the rest. Christian Dior. Dolce & Gabbana. Elie Saab. Louis Vuitton. Each of these fashion houses reached for lace from a small village in the Beskids.

Then came 2025. Magda Butrym dedicated an entire collection to Koniaków lace for Paris Fashion Week. Vogue Polska put the lace on its cover. Twice.

 

Models walked through displays of traditional Polish glass art placed on hand-crocheted lace. A collision of heritage and haute couture that earned coverage from Vogue to the Associated Press.

The AP wire story, published in August 2025, was syndicated to hundreds of outlets worldwide. Euronews ran a feature titled “From Koniaków to Paris.”

After twenty years, the world was calling again.

 

What Hasn’t Changed

The techniques are the same. The steel hooks are the same. The women sit in the same kitchens, in the same mountain village, working by the same light.

What has changed is the recognition. Koniaków lace is no longer a curiosity or a scandal. It is acknowledged as one of Europe’s finest living textile traditions, a craft that belongs in the same conversation as Calais lace, Murano glass, or Swiss watchmaking.

Every piece sold through koniakow.com is made to order, crafted to the customer’s measurements, and delivered with a certificate of authenticity signed by the artisan who made it. There is no factory. There is no inventory. There is a woman with a hook, a thread, and generations of inherited knowledge in her hands.

 

That is what you wear.

Koniakow.com has been connecting artisan lacemakers with customers worldwide since 2003. Each piece in our collection is handcrafted in Koniaków, Poland. Made to your measurements, delivered to your door.