Whenever a new trend occurs, as has always been the case, it instantly spreads among it-girls, bloggers, fashionistas and celebrities and it becomes a challenge to find anyone who hasn't been "infected" by a new trend. For example, less popular these days – the dress over t-shirt combination.
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| Valentino Haute Couture s/s'15 |
A lot of people sighed with relief when this combination was abandoned because many of them got really annoyed by this trend, who wears a dress with t-shirt underneath? Odd. Also, isn't it a 90s thing? However, I've decided to go deeper and I've caught myself making a parallel between this recent trend and Russian traditional attire – the sarafan, because wearing a blouse with a dress seems like an old Slavic trend.
The first mention of the sarafan, a word of a Persian origin, was recorded in the Nikon Chronicle in 1376; back then it was a long and wide male robe. In the 17th century it "migrated" to the female wardrobe and from this point the sarafan became a long dress with shoulder straps that was worn over a long robe, and one of the key items of Russian traditional costume.
Every region had its unique popular cuts and models which, by the way, travelled alongside with Russian settlers. However, there were three of the most popular ones:
- Trapezoidal – consisted of two pieces of fabric.
- Straight, "Moscow" - consisted of a few pieces of fabrics gathered at the top.
- Bodice – a bodice attached to a long skirt.
The sarafan differs in it colourfulness and comfort. Most of the time the colourful garments were made of red, brown, yellow and blue colour fabric. They were richly decorated with buttons, ribbons, lace and embroidery which were usually made by the owners of the sarafan themselves. Therefore, sarafan became an independent piece of art which represents all the variations of traditional Russian decorative fine art.
Just by looking at the sarafan you could define women's social and financial status. Upper class and merchants could afford expensive fabrics and decorations, dresses were mostly made from silk and satin and decorated, for example, with gold buttons. Meanwhile, commoners and peasants were mostly wearing linen and wool sarafans which were far from colourful.
Original and authentic sarafan became a taboo in the Peter the Great era, a great reformer who pursued European ideals and made the whole upper class change into European gowns, and traditional clothes including sarafan were abandoned. Fortunately, Catherine the Great decided to revive and make it relevant and popular again; a former Prussian princess was known for her genuine love for everything Russian, she was putting a lot of effort into awakening the Russian spirit in her Empire. Her grandson, Nicholas I officially made sarafan a court dress; this decision was partially affected by his grandmother's reforms and mostly by the urge to get rid of French influence in all of its aspects, including fashion, during the time of war with Napoleon.
Eventually, new sarafans hardly resembled their ancestors at all, it looked more like rethinking of the concept of the sarafan. Who knows, maybe the sarafan would have become one of the wardrobe essentials if the Revolution of 1917 hadn't happened. As all symbols of the imperial past, the sarafan was thrown away and became a part of history and an exhibit in a museum.
So, what's exceptional about the sarafan? I assume, it's all about its simplicity, versatility and it's cultural importance, the fact that it holds a heritage of Russian fine art traditions: lace, ribbons, other decorating elements and the fabric itself was handmade and the ancient tradition of this craft had been handed down from generation to generation as a precious treasure. Embroideries and prints always had a meaning and remained an almost invisible echo of the pagan past. Also, difference in the model depended on the region it came from, which created an additional connection with ancestors and traditions of the land. At this point, it makes the sarafan not only a piece of clothing but a holder of valuable information and a monument of culture.
I'm wondering what would have happened to the sarafan if Peter the Great's order never happened. Many countries have lost their connection with traditional costumes in pursuit of Europeanisation and it's really upsetting. It's a miracle that Indian costume survived colonialism and remains a striking example of authenticity in traditional clothing. In other Asian countries people sometimes wear national attire but mostly on special occasions and celebrations. Besides, while designers are working hard on adapting traditional clothing to modern style, we haven't succeeded at it so far. Maybe, I believe, it's not over for us yet and some enthusiasts will appear and help the sarafan gain the popularity and significance it used to have back in the day when Russian culture was prospering.
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