Embroidery The embroidery is a fundamental element of the Ukrainian folk costume in both sexes.The Ukrainian vyshyvanka is distinguished by local embroidery features specific to Ukrainian embroidery: In Ukrainian embroidery, black, red, and white colours are basic, and yellow, blue, and green are supplementary. In the area which now constitutes the modern nation of
Ukraine, embroidery existed already in the 5th century B.C in
Scythian art. Ukraine is famous throughout the world for its highly artistic embroidery. It is important for the embroiderer today to use folk art as a source without altering stitches or colours because every change devalues a piece of embroidery and distorts it.
Artistic influence Other national dresses The costume of Ukrainian settlers since the 17th century had most certainly influenced southern Russian dress, with the sleeves of the chemises of girls and young women decorated with geometric embroidery in black or red.
High fashion During
Paris Fashion Week 2015, Ukrainian fashion designer
Vita Kin was featured in
Vogue magazine and ''
Harper's Bazaar'' for introducing vyshyvanky as modern
Bohemian style designs that attracted fashion icons like
Anna Dello Russo,
Miroslava Duma, and
Leandra Medine. The designer transformed the vyshyvanka shirt into a more modern version. In its US May issue
Vogue wrote that the vyshyvanka has "made waves far past the Eastern European country". French actress
Melanie Thierry wore a vyshyvanka at the
2016 Cannes Film Festival. A geometric pattern woven in the past by adding red or black threads into the light thread was later imitated by embroidery and believed to have the power to protect a person from all harm. There is a saying in Ukrainian "Народився у вишиванці" which is translated as somebody was born wearing a vyshyvanka, so that is guarded, shielded, and defended by whoever made it. The geometrical figures represented in the Vyshyvanka originate from a single letter, word or story; intentions while embroidering a Vyshyvanka are also very important because it is used to emphasize someone's luck and ability to survive in any situation.
Patriotism Archduke Wilhelm of Austria was a
Ukrainian nationalist who preferred wearing the vyshyvanka and was therefore known in Ukrainian as Vasyl Vyshyvanyi (Basil the Embroidered). The Vyshyvanoho Square was named in his honor in the city of
Lviv. The vyshyvanka is not present in the traditional Russian women's costume with the
sarafan consisting of a long full
skirt hanging just below the arms with straps or an extremely abbreviated
bodice that secures it over the shoulders. and gradually became international as the International Day of the Vyshyvanka. It is celebrated on the third Thursday of May. It is a flash mob holiday, which is not attached to any public holiday or feast day. On this day, many Ukrainians wear a vyshyvanky to demonstrate commitment to the idea of national identity and unity and to show their patriotism. State officials, including municipal, court, and the government officials and the head of the state, may take part in celebration. In 2018, the Appeal Instance of the
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine conducted a research and came to the following conclusions: ==Belarusian vyshyvanka==