The national symbol of Ukrainians, a talisman and a real work of art. Learn more about vyshyvanka, its role in the world of fashion and famous connoisseurs of Ukrainian culture

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The Ukrainian traditional shirt - vyshyvanka - combines many components: it is a national symbol of Ukrainians, a talisman and, firstly, a work of decorative and applied art. In Ukraine, they even celebrate Vyshyvanka Day - every year on the third Thursday of May. This is a holiday designed to preserve folk traditions and popularize national clothing. Perhaps that is why vyshyvanka is popular, not only on the territory of our country.

For many years, embroidered patterns have conquered even world catwalks. In 2015, vyshyvanka was recognized as the main trend of the year according to the American Vogue magazine. In 2016, The New York Times also gave this status to the Ukrainian national dress.

With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when the interest in Ukraine and its culture received a new impetus, Ukrainian vyshyvanka again became a trend in the world fashion industry.

We collected the most interesting facts about the influence of Ukrainian embroidery on world fashion and found out where you can buy an embroidered shirt abroad.

Vyshyvanka in the collections of world clothing brands

The French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier was the first to make embroidery a part of world fashion. After visiting Ukraine in 2005, the master was inspired by the "Orange Revolution", fell in love with the Ukrainian national dress and presented his own collection of embroidered clothes. During the show, the models appeared on the catwalk, which the designer called Kyiv, in Bukovyna, Crimea and other outfits named after Ukrainian cities.

In 2008, Dior art director John Galliano created a collection dominated by red, black and white colors. The sleeves of the shirts and the hems of the skirts were embroidered.

Gucci also used Ukrainian motifs in one of its collections. The embroidery ornaments were extremely similar to the embroidery schemes of Podillia and Hutsul region.

Embroidered dresses, shirts and outerwear in the style of Hutsul vests became the basis of Valentino's spring-summer collection.

A few years ago, Dolce & Gabanna created an online project to support family values, the face of which was a Ukrainian family dressed in national clothes.

In 2016, the Italian brand Sportmax used wide and large ornaments reminiscent of borscht embroidery in its collections.

Ukrainian designers who popularize vyshyvanka

Of course, not only global brands use embroidered elements in their collections. For many years, Ukrainian designers have been working on popularizing Ukrainian traditions in clothing, opening a new perspective on Ukrainian embroidery and trying to make the ethnic trend a part of the wardrobe.

• Vita Kin – Ukrainian designer and fashion designer created one of the most popular among Ukrainian and foreign stars brand of embroidered dresses and clothes decorated with vyshyvanka by Vita Kin embroidery. In his works, the fashion designer combines classic Ukrainian ornaments with modern forms. In 2015, The Wall Street Journal named Keene's embroidered dresses as the most popular summer dresses of 2015.

• Yulia Magdych's brand is known in more than 30 countries. The designer collects ancient embroidery, analyzes their technique and color schemes and presents them in a modern interpretation. He also invents many patterns himself.

• Roksolana Bogutska is the owner of the clothing brand of the same name, which is characterized by artistic embroidery on leather and fabric, painting and metal inlay.

• Liliya Litkovskaya often uses folk aesthetics in her works for the "Litkovskaya" brand. It combines minimalism, folk traditions and modern business style.

• FAYNA Vyshyvanka is a Ukrainian brand that creates handmade vyshyvankas according to authentic traditions in a modern way.

Ukrainian embroiderers are also popularized on the world market by March11 (Robert Mishchenko and Svitlana Golovchenko), FOBERINI, Chernikova, Varenyky Fashion, ETNODIM company, 2KOLYORY brand and many other talented Ukrainian designers.

World stars conquered by vyshyvanka

The products of the Ukrainian designer Vita Kin are the most popular among world stars. Dresses with embroidery from the fashion designer were worn by Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, stars Demi Moore, Dita Von Teese, Claudia Schiffer and many others.

    British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and American singer, actress and model Kelly Osbourne appeared in Yulia Magdych's dresses.

     May Musk, the mother of the American billionaire and founder of SpaceX Elon Musk, has a large collection of embroidery. Her wardrobe includes products from Ukrainian designers Yulia Magdych, Elvira Hasanova, and the Ukrainian brand Kris Maran. The woman actively supports Ukraine and Ukrainian designers.

Where to buy an embroidered shirt abroad?

Ukrainian vyshyvanka is quite a popular outfit that can be purchased in many countries around the world.

          It is not at all difficult to find a Ukrainian shirt in Canada, in particular, online stores operate here. In the USA, in the cities where the Ukrainian diaspora lives, shops selling Ukrainian national clothes have opened.

          European countries actively buy products of Ukrainian designers in online stores and at international exhibitions.

          You can also buy Ukrainian clothes on Ebay and Etsy. In particular, small Ukrainian manufacturers also sell their products on the last site. 660 people have already purchased vyshyvanka from President Zelenskyy. In the most popular stores, the number of sold copies of one product reaches more than 1500 samples.

           Ukrainian embroidered women have found their fans in Nepal and the countries of the Middle East. The other day, in the capital of Qatar, Doha, a store of Ukrainian embroidered goods called "Vishvanka" opened its doors. Here you can buy or order products from designers. The owner of the store is Qatari Alanout Al Sheeb, who was inspired by Ukrainian national clothes to open her own store. Representatives of the Embassy of Ukraine in Qatar informed about the start of the institution's work.

We will remind you! Earlier, we talked about vyshyvanka Day and national Ukrainian clothes as the genetic code of the nation. Read about it in our material.