COMMUNIST UNIFORMS
As my aim is to create a conversation between surroundings and humans thorough textures, I also felt the need to research a bit more into how communism had an effect on people's appearance, and the first thing that came to my mind was uniforms. Throughout the years, the tough system wasn't always visible only through actions made by the party, but also through how people were forced to dress. In school, uniforms were also a way of fulfilling Ceausescu's cult of personality, through organisations such as Soimii Patriei or the pioneers, who were obligated to praise his name and his party. As well as the concrete walls of the socialists buildings, individuals were put into this fashion propaganda. But even so, as I was looking into the garments closer, I was very intrigued by the technical details, which seemed to be as rigid as the buildings, and I will be looking to include them in my development and final line up, to create a better understanding and a clearer connection between people and the project.
KINDERGARTEN UNIFORM
The kindergarten uniform consisted in a grey dress, white shirt/turtleneck, red bow tie and neutral coloured tights. I really liked the simplicity of the pattern: very minimalistic, but also very rigid-which makes me think again of the communist architecture. In communism, red was a very common colour used as a form of propaganda, be use it stand as being very powerful in relation to the cult of personality that it was emphasising.
The Pioneer Organisation was a pioneer movement in Communist Romania, founded in 1949. Most students joined the organisation while in the second grade and remained pioneers throughout eighth grade, therefore, in practice, the normal age range extended from seven to fifteen, or nearly fifteen. The uniform consisted in a white beret with the Pioneer Logo, white shirt with the number of the Pioneer Organisation the students were in, red scarf with the Romanian flag on, inscribed brown leather belt, black shoes, white socks and black skirt/trousers.
"The Graduates" is one of the most influential movies from the communist era, as it depicted different typologies of human emotions estranged in the educational system. It emphasised the love story of Mihai and Oana, two 16 years olds as they start their 10th grade. For almost 2 hours, the film is capable of transporting you in those moments of '86 super vividly, that it becomes an emotional journey. In terms of garment documentation, it has been super helpful because most of the action is taking place in the high school, and at is very well known, uniforms were mandatory in the communist era. Moreover, because I couldn't find a lot of clear pictures, this film helped me see better the garment details.
Observing people in Bucharest | Mircea Cuza
Mircea is one of my friends from high school with whom I've collaborated in the past for some of my illustrations, using his photographs. What I love about the concept behind the pictures is that even though they are taken very rapidly (as he walks mist often), they vividly capture the essence of the moment. He photographs a lot of elders, and I particularly found their appearance and their choice of clothes intriguing. Most of them wear very baggy garments, worn out leather jackets in the winter and old fur hats, which are some sort of an Eastern European leitmotif. As I'm working with vintage lace curtains, i will try to see how I can bring some of the worn out elements into the samples.
PRIMARY SCHOOL UNIFORM
The uniform consisted of a mid-length blue and white checkered dress, a blue apron decorated with side ruffles and lace borders, and changeable white collars and wristbands. It was mandatory that every girl must wear white tights and white lacquered shoes, as well as having their hair tied up with white accessories. This was the uniform I had to wear as well for my first 2 years of school, which I found very odd finding out that it was actually a communist uniform from my mom (I started year 1 in 2007). It made me question why, after 18 year, we we're still forced into the same educational system.
I found the uniform itself quite interesting, in terms of its technical details. Because it had changeable collars and wristbands, I remember having a huge pile of them, all with different lace figures on. Moreover, there were different types of aprons, with different lace models; some of them had ruffles on the chest, some of them looked more like a dress. Even though the uniform was the same for everybody, these details helped us, as little girls, to somehow express ourselves: from having different hair ties, white floral tights or embellished lacquered shoes, these "accessories" helped us individualise.
Straja Tarii was a youth organisation in the Kingdom of Romania, created in 1935 by King Carol II to counter the growing influence the Iron Guard had over the youth of Romania. Its members were known as străjeri ("sentinels"), and used a form of the Roman salute as greeting. The monarch modeled it on the Nazi Germany's Hitler Youth, and took inspiration from other fascist groups such as the Italian Balilla. Later, the uniform would be used by the Pioneer Organisation.
"Soimii Patriei" was a communist organisation for kids between the ages of 4 to 7, which aimed to educate kids in loving and learning about the country and the nation, in relation to the Communist Party. Before becoming pioneers, kids were enrolled into this programme. The uniform consisted in a blue skirt/trousers, white socks, blue hat, orange jacket and a red scarf which had the Romanian flag on.