Belarusian costume: past and modern design

The exhibition project "Belarusian costume: past and modern design", prepared in accordance with a grant from the President of the Republic of Belarus in culture, opens at the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus on December 17 at 17.00.

Folk costume is a living and eloquent document of the past. Responding to the global challenges of our time, today it is very important not to forget our roots. Now there is a great interest in the Belarusian folk heritage and the traditional costume is becoming a relevant source of inspiration, demonstrating its uniqueness. Fashion festivals and contests, such as Fashion Mill, Ethno Style and many others, show the high level of skill of both professional and young novice fashion designers. Complete with the globalization processes in their work, there are processes of turning to traditional forms of culture as sources of new compositional, form-building, decorative solutions. The modern costume which is created on the basis of the traditional Belarusian costume, fulfills an important function of popularizing the national culture and the continuity of the values of Belarusian folk art among young people, and also determines the original image of Belarus in the international scene.

At the exhibition "Belarusian Costume: Past and Modern Design" it is proposed to join the role of a researcher who, with special attention, delicacy considers the presented samples of Belarusian costumes as a subject of study and, of course, delight. Because even the most knowledgeable scientist couldn’t stay indifferent to the beauty of the costume, the high skill of its execution and its fragility in time. In addition, the exhibition project acts as a platform for the analysis and discussion of modern images created and presented at competitions and fashion festivals by designers who have chosen the traditional Belarusian costume as the object of their inspiration.

The exposition includes 8 authentic Belarusian costumes from the funds of the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus, works of the Student Ethnographic Association, as well as costumes from the collections of modern Belarusian clothing designers. The exhibition can become a starting point for getting to know the cultural code of Belarusians, as well as for studying it.