Transformations: FROM the Slavic Clothing Tradition TO Contemporary Designs Transformations: FROM the Slavic Clothing Tradition TO Contemporary Designs

Transformations: FROM the Slavic Clothing Tradition TO Contemporary Designs

By Dragan Hristov

Transformations: FROM the Slavic Clothing Tradition TO Contemporary Designs Transformations: FROM the Slavic Clothing Tradition TO Contemporary Designs

The Transformation Project was conceived by the Forum of Slavic Cultures, a foundation founded with the mission of connecting Slavic cultures. The project brings together selected participants from several countries in the context of exchange and transnational cooperation. The initial idea of ​​the project was to initiate and encourage the creativity of fashion designers through the prism of the rich cultural heritage of Slavic countries. 

 

 

 

 

The exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in Belgrade the museum continues the journey of the Transformation project, curated by Stanislava Vauda Benchevič, it presented to the audience last September 2023. In addition to the aforementioned designers from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Russia and Serbia, the exhibition also brings together authors: Denisa Dovalova (Czech Republic), Ivana Murišić (Montenegro, Jelena Holec (Croatia), Kinga Krol (Poland) and Dragan Hristov (North Macedonia). 

The exhibition Transformations thematically combines tradition and contemporary design practices, as well as different generations of contemporary fashion designers. With ten author's visions and collections, the project is now getting tangible foundations for establishing a long-term platform for fashion creativity in Slavic countries - and reaching the world's fashion capitals with its original sensibility.

The GORA (Forest) collection is inspired by the deep respect that Slavic people had for nature. Hristov’s collection embodies the old Slavic spirit. The clothes are in light and neutral tones, the silhouettes are elongated and in the form of the already known constructions of the Ludus brand, this time designed to reflect the secrets of the Slavic forests. The collection is a set of contemporary clothing works of art, made from natural fibers, using weaving, hand dyeing, crystallization, techniques that match the quality level of a museum exhibit.