From Grandma's Chest to Dolce & Gabbana Collections: JASU Hosts Roundtable for World Embroidery Day

On May 23, the Laboratory of Science and Art of the National Center "Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine" held an All-Ukrainian round table "Embroidered Shirt: Tradition and Modernity". The event took place on the occasion of World Embroidery Day, which was celebrated for the twentieth time this year. The round table was attended by students of the JASU, their scientific supervisors and honored guests.

“It is very important that today's youth join in understanding and researching cultural heritage — not only as historical memory, but also as a living space, ideas, values, national self-identification. It is through scientific research, dialogue and joint work that a generation is formed that is able to think responsibly, research and create the future of Ukraine. The Junior Academy of Sciences supports young people who strive to ask questions, seek answers, research cultural phenomena and discover new meanings in traditions passed down from generation to generation. After all, science is not only about technologies and formulas, but also about people, their memory, culture and society,” — with these words opened the round table, the President of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Stanislav Dovgiy.

The participants were also greeted by honored guests, including Tetyana Savarynyuk, Head of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Sector of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine; Valery Bitayev, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine; Igor Savchuk, Doctor of Art History, Professor, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art Problems of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine; and Valentina Demyan, Head of the Expert Council on Intangible Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and Deputy Director of the NGO “Democracy through Culture Development Center”.

39 young researchers from different regions of Ukraine joined the round table. They presented their projects in three sections: “Age-related, regional and symbolic features of an embroidered shirt”, “Technology of creating an embroidered shirt: from fiber to ornament” and “Embroidered shirt as an element of modern youth style”. One of the most popular topics among students is the study of the peculiarities of embroidered shirts of different localities: during the round table, the features of embroidered shirts and ornaments of Cherkasy, Sumy, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Zakarpattia, Rivne, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk regions were revealed. Often, the impetus for the study was a family heirloom, a find in a grandmother’s chest — an old embroidered shirt. This is how the scientific search of Darya Vagabova from the village of Kotsiubynske, Kyiv region, began. The family has preserved a chest from my great-grandmother from the 19th century, and in it is an embroidered shirt made of homespun cloth. This artifact became the basis for researching the peculiarities of the ornaments of the Cherkasy region, where Darya's grandmother came from. "When I hold an embroidered shirt from my family in my hands, it is no longer just clothing - it is an experience that has survived time and reached me. It is through such things that you begin to understand that cultural heritage is not an abstraction from a textbook, but a living history that continues within you. I am interested in exploring embroidery, because it combines beauty, symbolism and human destinies. And, perhaps most importantly, it is a way not to lose touch with what shapes our identity," Darya explained.

Authentic technologies for making women's shirts of the Lyubar region were studied in her work by Maria Osipova from the village of Velyka Volitsa, Zhytomyr region. The girl analyzed museum samples of clothing, studied the specifics of the cut, methods of connecting parts and decor. And based on the data obtained, Maria recreated models of authentic shirts in miniature for dollhouses.

Aya Naumenko from the city of Khrystynivka, Cherkasy region, wore an embroidered shirt that she made herself to participate in the round table. The girl began working on the outfit at the age of 12. She shared her experience with other participants. “Ukrainian culture has attracted me since childhood. I have always been interested in learning more about folk traditions, crafts, and symbols that have been passed down from generation to generation. I liked that each such thing is not only beautiful — it has a certain history and symbolism behind it. I believe that cultural heritage is interesting to modern youth. Especially now, against the backdrop of great changes and war, young people are more aware of the importance of their own culture and how past generations fought to preserve the Ukrainian language, traditions, and art,” said Aya.

The roundtable participants also talked about embroidery in the context of modernity. They talked about trendsetters, influencers, world-famous designers, athletes, warriors, and the president in embroidery. For example, Maria Grechenko from Zaporizhzhia conducted a large-scale scientific investigation, during which she found Ukrainian embroidery in the collections of Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Valentino, John Galliano, and Jean-Paul Gaultier. The researcher found that the Gucci 2008/2009 fall-winter collection, made in the vamp style, contains traditional embroidery patterns from the Hutsul region and Podillia. Hutsul zhupany and vests were seen in the Valentino spring-summer collection. However, not only clothes are decorated with embroidery. In recent years, according to Maria, cars have begun to be decorated with embroidery - special stickers have been created for this purpose. Patriotic tattoos have also become popular, including patterns borrowed from embroidery.

Athletes' outfits also increasingly contain elements of embroidery. One of the participants of the round table, Eva Tsarfina from Dnipro, is engaged in rhythmic gymnastics. She often dresses in embroidered costumes for performances. She says that folk-style gymnastic clothing combines ethno-symbolism and aesthetics with the language of movements, light and dynamics. "A costume in the style of vyshyvanka is a source of confidence, inspiration and inner strength. This is a deep cultural code that helps preserve traditions and at the same time open them in a new way for the modern generation. In addition, folk-style numbers are a cultural calling card of Ukraine on the international stage," Eva noted.

The embroidered shirt has long gone beyond ethnographic museums and school lines, it has become an element of streetwear, says Polina Kholod from Dnipro. “For a modern teenager or student, embroidery is not only about traditions, it is about a code of identity wrapped in a modern design. It is worn by Ukrainians in the diaspora, foreign diplomats, volunteers, military personnel, and displaced persons. It is a sign of memory, strength, unity, and struggle, a symbol of freedom and faith in victory,” Polina emphasized.

The All-Ukrainian round table "Embroidered Shirt: Traditions and Modernity" clearly demonstrated that the historical memory of the Ukrainian people continues to live and develop in the modern world, and its new facets and meanings are revealed in the projects and research of young scientists. Schoolchildren received electronic certificates of participation in the event. And also - invaluable experience, communication with like-minded people and ideas for further scientific explorations and discoveries.