In March 1945 the exhibit Théâtre de la Mode was showcased at the Louvre Museum. The event consisted in a display of 70cm tall mannequins made from wire, wearing outfits made by 53 design houses – among them Elsa Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Hermès. The result of a collaboration between the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and Entraide Française, a war relief organization, the main point of this event was raising funds for the charity, while showcasing the work of Parisian couturiers on wire mannequins since organising proper fashion shows would have been too expensive. The idea came from an old practice: sending dolls dressed in miniature versions of outfits to faraway buyers (the fashion doll was already used in the 1700s as a tool to export fashion in other countries, as you may remember from previous posts). Could we help Ukraine with dolls and fashion? Maybe.
Last year there was an exhibition of traditional "Motanka" dolls at the National Museum of Literature of Ukraine in Kyiv entitled "Ukrainian dolls travel the world". For this exhibition, craftswomen from all over the world specializing in the creation of traditional motanka dolls, dressed them in traditional costumes from different countries, including Austria, Iceland, Greece, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Germany and Norway.
According to historians, Motanka dolls appeared in Ukraine several thousand years ago, dating back to ancient Trypillia times (a Neolithic–Eneolithic archaeological culture). The name comes from the verb "motaty" (to roll up), indicating the act of making a knotted doll out of natural fabrics (also fabrics from old clothes of family members) and thread, without using a needle and scissors (the winding of the doll was to be carried out only clockwise, always accompanied by positive thoughts).
The Motanka dolls were considered family guardians or talismans (imagine the Roman penates protecting the household) – they were indeed deemed magical and had to protect the family from evil spirits. Being protective amulets, they couldn't have human appearances and therefore were faceless (according to the tradition, giving the doll a face could tie a person's soul to it). This is the reason why the dolls' faces are only characterized by a cross symbolizing the unity of heaven and earth, four cardinal points, four seasons, and the sun.
There are ceremonial and guardian motankas, the latter are created with a specific purpose in mind, like health, wealth and happiness and at times they incorporate healing herbs and coins and their colours also hint at different meanings, from red symbolising protection against diseases and evil spirits to yellow, which is the personification of the life-giving power of the Sun, to green, a symbol of rebirth, health, youth and Mother Nature.
Women would make the motankas following the lunar calendar, creating dolls for protection on the full moon; dolls that would act against diseases and failures on the descending moon and dolls for good luck in any business on the ascending moon (no dolls could be made on Fridays and Sundays, days traditionally considered as belonging to the goddess of women's diligence and needlework, Makosha).
Modern artisans make motankas (images 2 to 4 featured in this post show motankas currently on sale on the Ukielogy site) for special celerations and weddings, baby showers, engagements, and even funerals, as symbols of prosperity, goodness and hope. They usually create for them special costumes, accessorising them with traditional ornaments and embroidery.
It would be interesting to do a fashion charity project with motanka dolls – Ukrainian artisans could make the dolls and fashion designers could dress them up and then we could auction them to raise more funds to help people currently in Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees and Ukrainian design students as well. We could even do a new Théâtre de la Mode inspired by the "Ukrainian dolls travel the world" event and let them travel around the world before auctioning them. Anybody up for the challenge?