Wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts, or vyshyvanka, used to be seen by many as a political act, distinguishing the wearer as a Ukrainian nationalist.
Wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts, or vyshyvanka, used to be seen by many as a political act, distinguishing the wearer as a Ukrainian nationalist.
Now, 20 years after the country declared independence, embroidered items are making their way into everyday life, decorating a range of items, including socks, caps, belts, book covers and even underwear.
“I think it was independence that worked,” said Oleksiy Dolya, director of the Folklore and Ethnography Center at Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University. “It brought to life everything national: traditions, customs, rituals and, of course, clothes.”
The story of vyshyvanka goes back centuries, but no one knows exactly when the first one appeared. It is a traditional item of clothing, usually a shirt or a blouse, made from linen and decorated with embroidered patterns.
The original meaning of vyshyvanka was symbolic, with colors and decorations differing from region to region and even village to village.
Red and black acorns are usually embroidered in Kyiv and its surrounding area, green and orange patterns are from Prykarpattya and Bukovyna regions in western Ukraine.
The famous white-on-white embroidery became popular in several places across Ukraine, including Poltava, Cherkasy and Chernihiv. Blue decorations, according to Dolya, are the youngest ones, appearing at the beginning of the 20th century.
Volodymyr Tkach, a 25-year-old embroiderer from Kosmach – a village in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, said the popularization of embroidery is leading to a loss of its original meaning.
In ancient times people could guess what village a person came from just from the embroidery on his or her clothes.
– Volodymyr Tkach, a 25-year-old embroiderer from Kosmach
“Ukrainian national embroidery is a direct protective charm for the one who wears it, and it should protect a particular area [of the body],” he said.
“Women’s embroidery should end at the level of the breasts, as women are believed to breathe with their breasts, and for men embroidery should end at the level of the solar plexus, as men are known to breathe with their womb. This is a rule.”
This and many other rules Tkach learned during his upbringing in a family of embroiderers. In his makeshift workshop in a tent on Andriyivskiy Uzviz hang dozens of unique vyshyvankas. “All these shirts are my family’s work,” Tkach enthused.
On a plastic chair in the corner lay an unfinished shirt with a needle in it.
“In ancient times people could guess what village a person came from just from the embroidery on his or her clothes. Now people think about the meaning of embroidery much less. Actually, they simply want to see their clothes aesthetically beautiful,” he said.
Aliona Poklonska, a Russian by origin, follows all the modern styles in Ukrainian embroidery.
Her company Alternative Design had many famous clients, including science-fiction writers the Kapranov brothers, singer Oleh Skrypka and former first lady Kateryna Yushchenko.
“When I just started embroidering professionally, no one wanted Ukrainian national symbols. We used to embroider different flowers and twigs. Now the situation changed and most people want to have national patterns,” Poklonska said.
She moved to Ukraine when she was 15, eventually graduating, marrying and settling down here. Her grandfather was Ukrainian, and she remembers his vyshyvanka as “something mysterious and interesting.”
Usually it takes me about one month to embroider one shirt. I can’t say exactly as it mostly depends on the size, quantity and complexity of the decoration.
– Aliona Poklonska, embroiderer and designer
Her three-room basement shop in downtown Kyiv houses a workshop, a show-room and a warehouse and is a treasure trove for embroidery lovers. Embroidered shirts hang on the walls alongside evening dresses and dolls.
“I even have clients who cover car seats with embroidered leather,” Poklonska said.
She has noticed an increase in popularity of embroidery, even though her machine-made items are not cheap – a T-shirt will set you back Hr 200 and shirts start from Hr 900.
Handmade embroidery, such as that made by Tkach, is even more expensive as the process is distinctly more laborious and time-consuming. Prices can reach Hr 4,500 or even higher.
“Usually it takes me about one month to embroider one shirt. I can’t say exactly as it mostly depends on the size, quantity and complexity of the decoration,” he said.
The Kapranov brothers are well known for their love of vyshyvanka, which they often wear in public appearances.
“It’s not only cool and stylish, but just a comfortable piece of clothes,” Dmytro Kapranov said. “You can wear it whether you are going to visit a friend or the Queen of England – it is always appropriate and beautiful.”
He added that he expects a further growth in popularity for vyshyvanka as people search for themselves and their roots.
Ethnographer Dolya said he also sees a deeper motivation that just a fashion trend. “This is an essential part of the formation of a political nation.
Even if a person doesn’t consider himself a Ukrainian by birth, but still puts on and wears vyshyvanka, we can say that this person has already defined himself or herself a Ukrainian,” he said.
Alternative Design
26A Predslavynska St.
Tel. 331-25-92, 067-943-7086
[email protected]
Prices: Hr 50-Hr 1,050
Volodymyr Tkach
Andriyivskiy Uzviz
Tel. 050-200-3023
Prices: Hr 100-Hr 4,500
Central Shopping Mall (TsUM)
2 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St.
Tel. 234-95-05
http://www.tsum.com.ua/
Prices: Hr 260-Hr 1,500
Ivana Honchara Museum
9 Lavrska St.
Tel. 067-156-8658
Prices: Hr 250-Hr 2,500
Ukrainian Culture and Art House (exhibition center, master-classes, shop)
19B Horyva St.
Tel. 068-375-3011
www.dolesko.com
Kyiv Post staff writer Daryna Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected].
