An Academic Study of Clothing Ethnoculture and Modern Clothes Production: Interaction Practices in Ukraine

Abstract

As a result of globalization processes, the lives of average people are nowadays filled with uniform products. In Ukraine, contemporary clothing featuring national markers stands out from among the wide range of cultural and artistic trends. Ukrainian academics are currently studying the specific features of the diffusion of traditional clothing into everyday urban life. A knowledge of the historical path of the penetration, adaptation, and development of traditional Ukrainian clothing within the urban cultural system is necessary for an understanding of its modern transformation processes. An examination of the theoretical model of the diffusion and development of nationally marked clothing from 1861 to 2020 reveals that, in the context of urbanized culture, the spread of Ukrainian clothing is subject to five factors: social and economic, religious and ritual, identification (patriotic), cultural and artistic, and design and production. Within each subperiod, namely 1861–1920, 1921–1990, and 1991–2020, these factors have influenced clothing culture to varying extents, and their content is transformed in accordance with the historical circumstances. In addition to the publication of the above developments in scientific journals, considerable efforts to popularize them are also being made. Several thematic lectures have been given on the influence of the above-mentioned driving forces at different historical stages, accompanied by the multimedia presentation of prominent members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia posing in Ukrainian attire. The ZETA Atelier clothing manufacturing team produces collars embroidered with Ukrainian folk motifs, which became fashionable among Ukrainian intellectuals in the early 20th century. Collaboration based on the educational platform of the clothing brand Zerno has given rise to the idea of producing a line of stockinette T-shirts with prints of historical photographs of the Ukrainian cultural figures previously featured during lectures and presentations. The aim is to shape a contemporary urban culture of nationally marked clothing via the introduction of national images into consumer practices.