Fashion as a Window into Soviet History and Ukraine's Unique Identity: Q&A with Olha Korniienko
Always fascinated with fashion in general, Korniienko first became interested in the history of Soviet fashion while studying at the Faculty of History of Karazin Kharkiv National University.
“The first thing I did was go to a flea market and spend half of my student scholarship on everything I saw about fashion,” she said. “I bought Soviet fashion magazines, as well as books on the art of dressing and sewing.”
In her fourth year of study, Korniienko received a scholarship at Lomonosov Moscow State University and began working with the All-Union House of Fashion Design collection, as well as reports of Soviet designers about their cooperation with the French firm Dior, in the Moscow archives. Ultimately, however, she wanted to focus on the development of the Ukrainian fashion industry during this period.
Her dissertation explored Ukrainian Soviet fashion in the context of ideology and everyday life from 1956 to 1985. “While preparing my dissertation, I managed to work in more than ten archives in Ukraine and Russia, take more than fifty in-depth interviews, and analyze thousands of periodicals,” she noted. This research formed the foundation for Ukrainian Soviet Fashion During the Cold War.
We sat down with Korniienko to learn more about her research and the Ukraine Fashion History Digital Archive, an innovative project that makes fashion-related materials available in one place for people to learn about and study Ukrainian fashion.
HURI: Why do you think it’s important to study Ukrainian Soviet fashion?
Olha Korniienko: Fashion is an excellent window into the subtle give-and-take of Soviet nationality policies and the construction of Soviet ethnic identity. It is a production process within the Soviet planned economy as well as a choice by the consumer and user. Fashion was designed both to represent the Soviet Union to the outside world as well as to fulfill a need of the Soviet population - a need that was perceived as both material and educational.
Fashion can unite but also distinguish. It is an everyday item and a luxury. Looking at the full production and consumption cycle of Ukrainian fashion can, therefore, tell us a lot about how the post-war Soviet Union functioned, about the role of the Ukrainian SSR within the community of Soviet republics, about the influence of the West on both, and about the freedoms, or lack thereof, of the Soviet Ukrainian consumer. In short, fashion pertains to a number of questions that shape Ukraine as it is today and even hints at when and why Ukraine went down its own independent path.
HURI: During your HURI fellowship, you worked on your book, Ukrainian Soviet Fashion During the Cold War. Can you tell me some interesting details you found during your research?
For example, I analyzed how Soviet fashion was perceived in the US through publications in American magazines (Life, Vogue, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Ladies' Home). However, the most valuable sources are discussions and interviews with the Ukrainian diaspora in the US and Canada. In particular, I was interested in the question of how, in the post-war period, the diaspora communicated with relatives from Ukraine, sent parcels with clothes, contributed to Ukraine's independence, and so on.
The Soviet Union encouraged people to send foreign parcels to Soviet Ukraine and stores to offer Western clothes (Kashtan, Bеrеzka), since there was a need for foreign currency. Sending parcels to Ukraine was mainly done by Ukrainian communists living abroad. There are cases when people in Ukrainian villages dressed no worse than in the capital, as they received many parcels with fashionable Western clothes from their relatives who left the country after World War II.
HURI: What is the Ukrainian Fashion History Digital Archive? Why did you start it?
OK: The Ukrainian Fashion History Digital Archive aims to inform and educate a wide range of audiences through collecting, preserving, and interpreting materials on the history of Ukrainian fashion and the cultural heritage of Ukraine. Since I am focusing on the 1940s-1980s in my research, this period will be presented first in the Archive.
After more than ten years of researching this topic, I have collected a lot of materials. I also realized how difficult it is to find the necessary materials for research projects like mine, since they are quite dispersed. I collected them bit by bit and sometimes even felt like a fashion detective. For example, the materials of Ukrainian fashion houses, which were the key broadcasters of fashion during this period, are not actually presented in the archives. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, most of the materials were concentrated in the hands of people who belonged to the leadership of fashion houses and did not reach archival institutions.
I wanted to collect all the materials on the history of Ukrainian fashion of the period I studied in one place. This would make it easier for other scholars, students, and fashion professionals. It would also help people learn and know more about the culture of Ukraine because fashion is an integral part of it.
I registered the Archive as a non-profit organization in Ukraine in 2021 but started working on the platform (website) in the summer of 2022. Because of the Russian invasion, I had to evacuate from Kharkiv with only one backpack, leaving a lot of the undigitized materials from my collection in Ukraine. I had, for example, a personal collection of more than 400 fashion magazines from various Soviet republics, as well as from socialist and even Western countries.
I decided not to postpone the development of the Archive until later and submitted my project Documenting Ukrainian Fashion During the Cold War to the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM). Thanks to the support of this institute, I began to work on creating a website and restoring the lost materials, as well as searching for new ones. A lot of work has already been done, but there is still a lot ahead. The website itself is still under development, but we have already launched accounts on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I hope we will also launch YouTube soon, where we will present more detailed reviews on the history of Ukrainian fashion. There will also be interviews with people who worked in the fashion industry, as well as ordinary people who lived during this period and have interesting stories. At the moment, I have difficulties with financing, since working on the archive requires not only a lot of effort and time but also financial investments.
HURI: What kind of materials do you want to include in the archive? How are you gathering them?
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OK: I will present various types of materials—written, oral, visual and material. Materials will be structurally divided into two sections: Archives and Research Library. The Archives section will be presented with photos, videos, archival documents, and material objects. The Research Library will contain newspaper clippings, magazine articles, books, and other research materials on the topic.
While working on research, I collect materials in archives and libraries. The people I interview also share some materials with me. For example, I have a collection of the Ukrainian designer Lidia Avdeeva, which includes sketches, photographs, magazine clippings with publications of her designs.
HURI: In 2021, you participated in the International Fashion Festival “Kyiv Fashion” with an exhibition on Ukrainian “couture” of the 1940s-1980s. What was that experience like?
OK: It was my first experience where I co-organized an exhibition and also gave a lecture on fashion to the general public. Both the exhibition and the lecture aroused great interest among the public, it was especially pleasing to see that the young generation was interested. This gave me an understanding that this direction should be developed not only for the academic audience but also for a wide range of people. The experience motivated me to register the Ukrainian Fashion History Digital Archive, which will be useful for researchers, students, fashion professionals, and everyone interested in the history of Ukrainian fashion.
HURI: I know you have been deeply impacted by the war, as have all Ukrainians, and you mentioned you had to evacuate Kharkiv. Would you be willing to share a little about your experience?
OK: When the war started, I was at home in Kharkiv. On the first day of the war, I hastily packed my backpack and left for the suburbs. After a week of constant shelling and bombing, I decided to evacuate. I wasn't able to get into my flat anymore, so I arrived in Germany with only my backpack.
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My family is still in Ukraine. They live on the outskirts of the Kharkiv region, bordering the Donbas and not far from the front line. My oldest brother is in the Ukrainian armed forces on the front line in the Donetsk region. Of course, I am extremely worried about my family, relatives, and friends. For my part, I try to do everything in my power to support them, as well as to bring closer the victory of Ukraine. In June, for example, I was able to raise funds for a bus for my brother's military unit.
My research is related to the cultural history of Ukraine, and I hope that this is also a useful contribution to the Ukrainian cause. I want my country to be known not only because of the war but also for its history and cultural heritage. There is a very inspiring atmosphere at Harvard: events related to Ukraine are constantly taking place, and I really feel the support of Ukraine and Ukrainians. It is very valuable and I am grateful for it. It is a great honor for me to be here.
HURI: At HURI, you gave a compelling presentation on Soviet Ukrainian fashion during the cold war, showing how Ukraine had its own fashion culture and identity, sometimes in tension with the central Soviet authorities. You also mention how Ukraine “Ukraine was both a core republic of the Soviet Union as well as a constant challenger to Russian hegemony.” Why do you think Ukraine has always been a challenger to Russian hegemony? How does this history relate to the current war?
OK: Ukraine has never been a cultural periphery. Furthermore, in terms of fashion development, the Ukrainian SSR was one of the main fashion centers in the Soviet Union. This was due to Ukraine’s high level of light industry development and the fact that Ukraine had its own sizable market of consumers. Further, in Soviet Ukraine, a network of state institutions was created, which included fashion houses, research institutes, and scientific organizations, all of which were aimed at developing the internal fashion industry and promoting it within the country and abroad. Ukrainian specialists were actively involved not only in the process of foreign fashion exhibitions but also undertook foreign trips to study fashion and possibilities for cooperation. There were production contracts and cooperation with foreign firms on both sides of the Iron Curtain, which took place both on the Soviet level as well as on the Ukrainian one.
Speaking about the Ukrainian-Russian confrontation, it has a long history. Russia has always sought to restrict and assimilate Ukrainians. There were attempts and prohibitions of the Ukrainian language, Russification, and simplification and belittling of Ukrainian culture and its heritage. But Ukraine has always resisted and defended its gains. This also applied to fashion, when at the international level Ukraine manifested its identity through the lens of fashion and cultural achievements (for example, the exhibition in Montreal in 1967). I think that understanding Ukraine under late socialism is indeed essential for an understanding of the entire Soviet Union, and Russia in particular. The war has finally allowed a de-centering of Russian narratives within the Soviet context and challenges the long-standing conflation of Russia with the Soviet Union.
HURI: Can you share some examples of Ukrainian fashion’s distinctive features during the Cold War?
OK: Paradoxically, the Soviet Union promoted national identity by focusing on folklore and national themes. First of all, this was encouraged as it was a highlight and a contrast to Western fashion. Ukrainian fashion designers took advantage of that and collaborated with folk artists, studied national art, visited specialized museums and galleries, were inspired by natural materials, and created their collections based on these influences. As such, Ukrainian fashion differed from the general Soviet fashion products.
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For example, Lviv fashion house artists went to the villages in the Carpathian Mountains, where they collected materials and studied embroidery, fabrics, and jewelry and created folk costumes based on what they had found. They were assisted by employees of the Ukrainian art and ethnography museums. Classes on various types of Ukrainian arts and crafts, such as embroidery, weaving, knitting, and needlecraft, were organized. In addition, Lviv artists drew sketches for fabrics and independently produced fabrics on hand machines, which made these fabrics unique.
Ukrainian designers focused on the cultural and historical heritage of Ukraine, which they demonstrated in national and international exhibitions (for example, the Sofia Kyiv collection, which was exhibited in Canada). There is much that made Ukrainian fashion distinct: in addition to using traditional designs and employing Ukrainian specialists, the collections were made from domestic fabrics, which were produced within the republic. In terms of production, one can observe the usual late Soviet jostling for preferred contracts – a process that brought Ukraine into direct contact with other republics and made it a player in the inter-republican competition for resources.
HURI: Do you have a favorite item among your current collection for the archive?
OK: I'll tell you about one of my valuable exhibits - a dress with history. This dress is 31 years old, just like independent Ukraine. It was made for a fashion show on the occasion of Ukraine's independence in 1991 and was exhibited at the first fashion show of independent Ukraine in Kyiv. Its creator is Lidia Avdeeva, who worked at the Kyiv Fashion House and developed collections for exhibitions abroad (haute couture).
The day before my dissertation defense at the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, I was visiting Lidia Avdeeva and she gave me this dress so that I could wear it for my thesis presentation. It was very pleasant and unexpected. It was so symbolic and also a great honor and responsibility for me. Later, I bought it from her and thus it became part of the Archive collection.
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HURI: How can people contribute to your project?
It is quite difficult to develop such a large project and I will be grateful for any contribution. On the one hand, I am in search of partner organizations, scholarships aimed at the development of digital archives, or any financial assistance/donations. On the other hand, I continue to collect materials for the Archive.
In general, the Archive is in need of the following materials:
- Ukrainian fashion houses and light industry development info;
- Photographs and videos, connected with fashion and daily life;
- Fashion magazines (Ukrainian, Soviet, European, American);
- Material objects (clothes, shoes, accessories, household items) for future fashion exhibitions.
In particular, the main focus now is on gathering family photo collections of Ukrainians who lived in the 1940s-1990s. In these photographs, we can track both fashion and everyday life. It can also be useful not only to fashion researchers but also to social historians. Unfortunately, because of the Russia-Ukraine war, many houses have already been destroyed, people are leaving their houses, and it is unlikely that they will take photo albums with them. The photographs collected in family albums are an important historical source that contains a lot of information about culture, daily life, and fashion, and I would like to preserve this as much as possible for future generations as well as researchers.
I am also looking for people to interview who have worked in fashion houses, ateliers, and light industry enterprises, as well as those who have a story to tell about fashion and everyday life in the 1940s-1990s.
Archive contacts:
Instagram: @ukrfashionarchive
Facebook: @ukrfashionarchive
Twitter: @uafashionarchiv
Email: ukrfashionarchive@gmail.com
Website: ukrfashionarchive.com (under development)
My contacts:
Instagram: @olkorniienko
Twitter: @olhakorniienko
Email: olkorniienko@gmail.com