Ivy in the Heart of Katowice: Mickiewicz High

Not every Ivy-inspired collection needs the walls of Harvard or Princeton. Sometimes, a school that has stood for over a hundred years in the very heart of Katowice is more than enough. The Adam Mickiewicz III High School - with its monumental staircases, long corridors and an assembly hall adorned with a mural celebrating the triumph of knowledge - proved to be a natural setting for the Outfit Narrative x Poszetka collection. Because although an ocean separates it from American campuses, the spirit of academic tradition feels surprisingly close.

So was there a better place to shoot A Tribute to Ivy than our own Mickiewicz? There surely wasn’t; let us try to make the case in a few words, by looking into the history of this remarkable place.

First: the heart of Katowice.

The school building was constructed between 1898 and 1900 on a square along what was then August-Schneider-Strasse (today’s Mickiewicza Street). It stood alongside a municipal bathhouse and a grand synagogue (no longer standing), forming a monumental streetscape.

That was also the starting point for our shoot: to show the roots of a collection that, in part, grows directly from Poszetka’s own home ground - Katowice.

Second: the present-day III High School as a symbol of the beginnings of education in the regional capital.

You could say it was the first educational “ivy” planted in Katowice soil - a sign of the city’s rapid transformation. At the turn of the 20th century, Katowice was one of the fastest-growing places in Europe, evolving from a village into a thriving urban and industrial centre.

It is worth noting that many of these changes were driven by Richard Holtze, co-founder of Katowice and a key figure in its history. He also fully financed the construction of the swimming pool next to the municipal bathhouse, whose another red-brick building still stands on the same Mickiewicza Street, just a block away.

Third: the architecture carries the same spirit we associate with Ivy League campuses.

Educational buildings at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries were designed on a grand scale, reflecting the importance of learning and academic institutions. In the United States, this took the form of collegiate gothic architecture and expansive campuses. In Europe, it meant monumental school and university buildings.

That same spirit is visible in the walls of Mickiewicz, built in a similar neo-Gothic style: representative staircases, high corridors, decorative vaults and an ornamental rose window on the façade. Particularly striking is the ceiling of the assembly hall — a mural of over 30 square metres depicting the triumph of knowledge — along with its stained glass windows.

Fourth: schools like Mickiewicz formed local and national intelligentsia.

In the United States, this role was played by Ivy League universities and preparatory schools. In Silesia, secondary schools - known in the 19th century as Gymnasien - fulfilled a similar function, with Mickiewicz among the most important.

Generations of the region’s elites were educated here. From figures known from the pages of history, such as Wojciech Korfanty or Konstanty Wolny, through clergy and intellectuals - Henryk Bednorz, Ignacy Jeż, Czesław Domin and Wilhelm Pluta - to many lesser-known graduates. And it continues to educate new generations to this day, remaining one of the leading high schools in Katowice.

Finally: the Ivy style itself grew out of everyday academic life.

From corridors, staircases, libraries and lecture halls. From conversations between classes and the rhythm of student life. That is why the spaces of Mickiewicz felt like such a natural setting for our shoot. It is a European counterpart to the campus - a place where knowledge, youth and ambition meet every day.

There is one more detail worth mentioning. In the first half of the 20th century, both university students and high school pupils dressed very differently than today. Jackets, shirts, ties and overcoats were the norm - a natural part of everyday life. That same aesthetic world later became the foundation of Ivy style, and of our current collection paying tribute to it, created in collaboration with Suzan / Outfit Narrative.

Schools like Mickiewicz share one more thing with Ivy League universities: they gather history over time. With each year, each graduating class, each story told by their students.

A bit like ivy slowly covering the walls.

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Finally, we would like to give the floor to two of our friends and long-time clients - both graduates of Mickiewicz - who kindly shared their memories with us.

“From the very first stone steps to the stained glass of the assembly hall - Mickiewicz was captivating. It’s impossible not to remember the biology lab, whose atmosphere defined almost every class. I still recall lessons in chemistry, history, Polish and English. Years later, I also took my state medical exam there, as part of the first cohort.”

Michał Zembala

“When I graduated from Mickiewicz in 2000, I stepped onto an ark that carried me into a new millennium - docking in unfamiliar places and bringing aboard people who would, over time, become my friends.

Last year, I returned to the school with my class to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our graduation. When I came home late that night, I realised that these were the people who had shaped me more than many I met later in life, even those I see more often today.

Even though we’re 25 years older, we were once again just kids from class 4C. It was a great school.”

Maciej Wrzalik

Thank you!