Cutting-edge Ukrainian Fashion Isn't Just Vyshyvankas
Cutting-edge Ukrainian Fashion Isn't Just Vyshyvankas
Yes, Ukrainians are known for their vyshyvankas. But there’s so much more: meet the plakhta, sharovary and krayka – expressions of Ukrainian identity, and their desire to be free.
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When the full-scale invasion began, Anastasia Boyko thought about fleeing Ukraine to keep her three month old baby safe.
Instead she decided to help the war effort using her great-grandmother’s love of embroidery. Generations of women in her family had been united by this heritage.
She couldn’t leave her family – and their traditions – behind.
These days, Ukrainian clothes are undergoing a renaissance. Modernized, their various elements return to the catwalks and everyday wardrobe. Ukrainians wear them to stay connected to the past that Russians desperately wanted to destroy. Ukrainian designers are playing a significant role in popularizing national clothing traditions — and reviving authentic images to give Ukrainians something to be proud about.
Though vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, is perhaps the most famous element of national clothing, other elements are contributing to the country’s traditions as well.
Items like plakhta, which are unstitched, belted skirts; sylyanka, beaded necklaces; sharovary, wide pants traditionally worn by men; or krayka, a narrow belt.
Anastasia has found a novel way of working with her heritage to create something new: her signature style is decorating vintage blazers with Ukrainian embroidery.
It became an outrageous success: she unveiled her main collection in April 2022, and in two days, ‘1991 Etno Studio’ managed to sell out the entire collection.
Anastasia's family has a proud tradition of making and wearing Ukrainian embroidery. For the older generations of women, it was a hobby. Even at her graduation ceremony, Anastasia wore a traditional Ukrainian shirt: her grandmother embroidered the sleeves, and her mother added an ornament in the center.
When the full scale invasion began, the marketing agency she owned was forced to close down. All of her sources of income were cut off. But still, she decided to stay in Ukraine, and make clothing that would be a clear statement of her identity, and protest against the war.
“We created clothes with ethnic elements that can be worn every day with any outfit. They can be styled with joggers, skirts, and dresses. Wear it for a work. Wear it every day to work,” the founder explained about the concept of her project concept.
Before creating her new line, Anastasia worked closely with an ethnologist to do profound research about the traditional patterns of Ukrainian clothes. She found that historically, embroidery was used to decorate the seams joining different bits of fabric together in a piece of clothing. Ukrainians stitched where they wanted to hide and embellish those seams, Anastasia says.
Ukrainian embroidery is full of different symbols and ornaments. But as it turns out, there is no agreed guide saying what each particular ornament means. Instead, each embroiderer defines the exact sense of the symbols they use.
Ukrainians have to deal with the problem of not even knowing what their original clothes looked like. The Soviet Union desperately tried to stereotype Ukrainian culture as being simple and backwards: restricted only to red satin sharovary (men's wide trousers), and cheap wreaths with plastic flowers.
“Ukrainians dressed in pastel shades. The national costume never had bright colors. We have never used satin, as well as the poppy has never been depicted in Ukrainian embroidery. They were regarded as tragic flowers,” explained Ukrainian designer Ksenia Tretyak.
The consequences were dramatic. Without proper representation of their identity for decades, entire generations of Ukrainians perceived their cultural heritage as something insignificant and ridiculous.
From a very young age, fellow fashion designer Sofia Rositska's parents taught her to admire Ukrainian traditions.
When she turned 19 years old, Sofia founded ‘MAREVO,’ a brand that reimagines and interprets Ukrainian heritage. Back in April 2022, Sofia and her team were just decorating shopping bags, as well as printing stickers or posters.
They donated all their income to Ukrainian defenders.
But as the brand has developed, it has become far more wide-ranging, involving bags, headscarves, and other accessories.
“Most of the time, I create things I would like to wear myself. I can't find anything like it out there,” Sofia said.
Modern shoppers are also changing what they use to carry things, and now often use authentic taystras – an over-the-shoulder bag that originated in the Carpathian mountains.
Sofia and her team have become the creators of Ukrainian scarves, jewelry, and other accessories that were typical of Ukrainians centuries ago. But it's not just copying ancient designs. Sofia feels it is important to constantly reinterpret Ukrainian heritage, because tradition without interpretation is mechanical repetition.
“In traditional dress, a Ukrainian woman usually wears a headscarf,” explained Sofia. “If she is not married, the headscarf is ‘girlish’, letting her hair show. Whereas married women covered their heads completely.”
These headscarves are one of the highlights of Ukrainian national costume, which have united generations of women. They are often passed down from mother to daughter.
Beaded necklaces also often frame the necks of Ukrainian women, with various different styles. One type is a sylyanky, where equal strips of beads are tied around the back of the neck, used as an amulet, or good luck charm. Another is a gerdan, an ornament made by stringing beads of different colors and sizes on a thread or fishing line.
Many traditional Ukrainian items of clothing have already lost their original purpose. For instance, people no longer use krayka (a narrow belt) to support non-sewn clothing, or wide sleeves to grab a hot pot. Nevertheless, Sofia said, Ukrainian designers tend to take a fresh look at the national dress and give it a new lease of life.
“By adding these authentic elements, we remind ourselves of our roots and what we went through. It's a way of understanding Ukrainian cultural background,” Sofia concluded.
Ukrainians celebrate Vyshyvanka day, Kyiv, 2024. Video by Oleh Tymoshenko
This week, Ukrainians celebrated Vyshyvanka Day, honoring the national costume, which has become a tool to display Ukrainian resistance since the start of the war.
The Vyshyvanka has long been a symbol of Ukrainian pride.
In the Soviet Union, during the Brezhnev era, the Vyshyvanka was seen as a sign of dissent and was completely banned by the authorities. For centuries, Russians and Soviets attempted to destroy Ukrainian culture.
But it ended up doing the opposite.
Vyshyvankas typically have a family connection. Sofia explains that they can be embroidered with a family crest or symbol protecting against evil spirits.
However, as designers like Sofia and Anastasia Boyko have shown, the Ukrainian national costume is more than just the Vyshyvanka.
“It’s important to remember our culture and traditions. Of course, we should keep up with global fashion trends, but wearing Ukrainian clothes that would remind us of our identity every day, not only during Christmas or Easter, isn’t that hard,” says Anastasia.
AFTER THE PAYWALL: Ukraine continues its dominance on the Black Sea, wiping out a third of the Russian Black Sea fleet… and we take a look at how The Counteroffensive’s team celebrated national vyshyvanka day! (along with a very cute dog wearing his own vyshyvanka!
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