We believe that you have heard about them, about Boikos. After all, not by Hutsuls alone. The ethnic group of Boikos also lives in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Their culture is interesting, and their clothing deserves a separate capsule with the motifs peculiar to them—which we in Chernikova have already created.
But everything should go in due order.
Boikos.
We got to know their traditions and, what was of particular interest, the patterns, motifs and “design” of clothing better during the ethno-expedition #БойківськіКарпати (#BoikosCarpathians) with Mariana Kovalchuk. This was an initiative of the Відділ туризму ІФ ОДА / IF Tourism Office, for which we are grateful. Give us more of them.
During these expeditions, and there were four of them within six months, we were visiting museums and private collections. We were getting to know the people who reverently preserved in their homes and chests those artifacts which united modernity with history and traditions. And this is extremely important for our self-identification—as Ukrainians with a rich and diverse culture.
We will not tell you about Boikos in a nutshell. Because the “Ukraїner” team has coped with this task greatly, here is a link to the material about Boikos.
But now we would like to tell you more about what exactly Boikos used to wear. And how we in Chernikova have rethought and integrated it into modern, stylish and high-quality clothes that you wear every day.
Ancient dymkas – skirts.
They were made with woodblock printing on textiles—and this is precisely the topic Liuba Chernikova is now actively engaged in. During the expeditions we saw the authentic dymkas put on exactly as they were worn in ancient times—oh, how amazing they are, look at the photo attentively. The skirts were also decorated with a thin strip of embroidery or drawn thread work.
Horsyky – sleeveless jackets, vests.
That is something fantastic! Those patterns make the head spin, how beautiful, special and unique they are! Precisely from these horsyky we selected some ornaments, which became the basis for embroidery in the thematic series “2023”.
During the expedition Liuba also got interested in the mathematical nyzynka embroidery with the author’s schemes from the heart of Liubov Mykolaivna Yurkiv, especially in those nyzynka schemes that were the same on both sides. Both Ms. Liuba herself and the patterns are very interesting.
Such are ancient chests and their signs as well. Now the designer is working on their symbolism in ornaments—for future collections.
You know, now we deeper understand how happy we are to be able to explore our native land and to do what we love, for which we express our eternal gratitude both in words and deeds to our military servicemen and servicewomen.
Let’s not forget to help them relentlessly.
In the article by “Ukraїner” we came across the phrase of one of the heroes of the material:
“When you are doing something authentic, it seems that some supernatural forces are helping you. I can see how my life is becoming better. The more I delve into the past, the more clearly I can see the future.”
Let’s remember our past to make our future.
And once again: let’s support each other, love each other and help the military servicemen and servicewomen of Ukraine relentlessly!
You can find the new series with Boikos motifs here—it is beautiful, isn’t it?!
