I'm growing a deep interest in traditional patterns and motifs... I guess it's 'cause of that hippie part of me that's always longing for a back to basics kind of lifestyle :) Anyway... today I found around the house a traditional Romanian tablecloth that we received as a gift (cause you only find them in gift shops nowadays, don't imagine that's what people use every day :P) and I thought I'd explore this theme.
I don't know if being far from home makes me rediscover my own national values or it's just the fact that folk patterns are in fashion right now - probably a little bit of both :P
Actually this kind of traditional Romanian blouse is quite an original design and it served as inspiration for some contemporary collections from YSL, Anna Sui, Emilio Pucci - you can see them here
And last summer if you were a really really hip person in Bucharest you would have definitely had one! :P
And I was happy to find out about this website www.romanianmuseum.com which is not the greatest website in the world but has lots of pictures like the ones up here - there are traditional costumes from different regions (I wouldn't be able to recognize from where's each one). It's very funny to imagine a time when everybody dressed like this. Now they're only occasionally used for festivals or celebrations.
I found these pictures on this website http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaPortul/ that is very well documented (and it's in English if anyone's interested).
These costumes are hand embroidered and there are few people that still make them- especially the leather jackets and vests. There aren't many young people who wish to get trained to carry on this craft, it requires a lot of patience and great skills.
I used to love going to traditional craft fairs. I love the colours and the geometrical motifs. I would like to integrate this kind of pieces in a contemporary design. I like this kind of mix: rugs, throws, pillows in a contemporary interior... traditional embroidery in a cool outfit...I'm thinking of using these motifs in some way...I don't know how yet... but I'll let you know when I do :D
picture sources here here here and here
