Still life — POELLE x TSUM Kyiv collection inspired by Dutch still life

Stilleven is an exclusive POELLE collection created in collaboration with TSUM Kyiv, inspired by the world of 17th-century Dutch still life. The name "Stilleven" itself, meaning "still life" in Dutch, refers to a genre of painting that in the Netherlands and Flanders served not only aesthetic contemplation but also to capture the beauty of everyday objects, flowers, fruits, and domestic details. It is precisely this calm, attentive way of looking at things that became the starting point for POELLE's contemporary interpretation.
The collection descriptions feature references to the works of painters such as Pieter Claesz, Maria van Oosterwijck, and Balthasar van der Ast, whose compositions built a world of elegance, intimacy, and symbolic meaning of objects. POELLE translates this language into leather accessories — not to copy the past, but to convey its depth in a modern form, proportion, and material. Each handbag from the collection acts as a "still life in motion": it retains the silence, focus, and nobility of a classic painting, but lives in the real rhythm of a contemporary woman.
The Stilleven color palette is drawn from the paintings of old Dutch masters and includes delicate lemon, pink, and light cornflower shades, combined with deeper tones of garnet and chocolate. As a result, the collection has a painterly, saturated character — subtle up close, but very expressive in the overall styling. These are colors that do not appear accidental: they evoke fruits, petals, silver, glass, and the dim light of old compositions, while remaining modern and easy to wear every day.
Visually, the collection was also presented through a photoshoot in which handbags were combined with exotic fruits, berries, mushrooms, and silver and crystal vessels, further strengthening the connection to the still life tradition. The creators of the collection point out that in the past, wealthy burghers immortalized beautiful objects they owned in paintings, and today, similar functions are performed by contemporary images published on social media. In this sense, Stilleven becomes not only a collection of handbags but also a reflection on how we perceive beauty, objects, and daily rituals today.
The Stilleven collection was available as an exclusive POELLE x TSUM Kyiv line on the 3rd floor of the department store and online on the TSUM website. If you are looking for a handbag that combines art, history, and modern feminine form, Stilleven is one of POELLE's most artistic iterations — calm, sophisticated, and built around the idea that the beauty of everyday things deserves its own composition.