On June 14, the presentation of the new cruise collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli from the large fashion house Valentino – “Resort 2017” took place in the capital of Cuba – Havana. Its highlight is the combination of the brand's famous silhouettes with ... traditional Ukrainian clothing!
Chiuri and Piccioli have repeatedly noted that they are impressed by freedom, including the freedom to combine the incompatible, which was very peculiarly reflected in the show of this collection. Thus, delicate dresses and midi-length skirts were decorated with a large, almost tropical, floral print, which the Italians suggest combining with strict shirts or functional knitwear, and on evening lace dresses, wooden beads appeared next to recognizable Ukrainian embroidery.
And while Ukrainian national costumes continue to inspire world-famous designers, we decided to recall which other top brands, besides Valentino, have previously turned to the ethnic traditions of our country.
The fashion for ethnic embroidery has gone far beyond the borders of Ukraine. Cases when famous designers turn to our ornaments and motifs are becoming more and more frequent, and very soon we will no longer be surprised by this fact. For more than ten years we have been inspiring fashion houses around the world, which decorate already stylish high-quality clothes with incredibly beautiful embroidery.
Shortly after the Orange Revolution of 2005, the famous French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, having visited Ukraine, decided to create his “Ukrainian collection”. During the direct presentation, all the elements testified to the national ethnic character of this project: Gaultier called the podium Kyiv, the sectors into which the hall was divided were named after other Ukrainian cities – Lviv, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Yalta, etc. The Frenchman even called the dress models “Bukovina”, “Crimea”.
The collection was based on dresses decorated with Ukrainian embroidery. Models also presented vests similar to the traditional "keptaryk" and dark leather coats. Some time later, Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, wearing a dress from this collection, graced the cover of "Vogue" (last year the magazine called Ukrainian embroidery one of the main trends of the season), and the editor of the publication and, in addition, one of the world's leading fashion experts - Anna Wintour - showered compliments on the French couturier: "This is the best thing Jean-Paul has ever done."
"Frozen Ukrainian Brides" by John Galliano
In 2008, the exhibition of Dior director John Galliano caused a sensation. It was based on Ukrainian ethnic motifs, the collection was designed in dark colors, and the fashion designer decorated the sleeves of blouses and the hems of skirts with embroidery.
The models, dressed in gray and blue tones, resembled the young lady from Gogol's "Viy." Critics called this project "Frozen Ukrainian Brides."
Gucci and Hutsul embroidery
The art director of one of the most famous world brands «Gucci» – Frida Giannini in 2008-2009 created a fall-winter collection, the models of which were decorated with embroidery. Among others, geometric ornaments typical of Podillia and Hutsulshchyna dominated. Journalists of «Vogue» later wrote: «The designer moved away from the traditional emphasis on sexuality and the «vamp» style. Here she preferred elegant and luxurious clothes».
Ukrainian Amazons in Paris and New York
The fashion world started talking about Ukraine again in 2013, when two designers launched collections dedicated to "Ukrainian Amazons": Prabal Gurung in New York and Gareth Pugh in Paris. Both the American of Nepalese origin and the Briton emphasized that they were impressed by the Ukrainian girls of the Carpathians: real modern Amazons who do not let men near them and fight against gender inequality. Such a strange interpretation is explained by the fact that neither Gurung nor Pugh had seen the girls of the Carpathians with their own eyes, but created the collection after previously "searching" the Internet.
Embroidery from "Valentino"
The fashion house "Valentino" even before the release of the aforementioned "Resort-2017" collection turned to Ukrainian motifs. Thus, the Italians' spring-summer 2015 collection was presented with shirts, dresses and even suits decorated with embroidered ornaments. There was also a place for sheepskin vests, better known in the Hutsul region as vests. The models were dressed in "zhupans", and their shoes were covered with burlap.
Ukrainian family in the Dolce&Gabbana project
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, whose activities are aimed at supporting family values, presented a new project, the face of which was a Ukrainian family, selected from thousands of photos from around the world. Stefano shared a photo of our compatriots in national costumes on social networks.
Ukrainian nails from a brand from California
American nail brand NCLA has introduced a new capsule dedicated to Ukraine. Inspired by the national costumes of Galicia, Bukovina, Transcarpathia and other historical regions, the designers have created a new collection of nail stickers – modern, bright and in line with all the canons of nail style. The collection is based on Ukrainian ethnicity and ornaments. For example, the stickers “Hutsulshchyna” are a combination of horizontal ornaments, reminiscent of cross-stitch embroidery, with the image of a fabulous flower bud. Ukrainian motifs have been given a new lease of life, wearing bright pop colors – pink, lemon, turquoise and orange.
As you can see, the most famous Western designers are increasingly resorting to Ukrainian ethnic style in their collections. “Resort 2017” is the quintessence of the designers’ ideas, and let’s hope it is far from the last project dedicated to our clothes, our people, and our history.
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