Down Works by Graduates of the Orenburg Regional Art College

The graduates really did manage to pleasantly surprise both the members of the commission and the representatives of our company. Their works (in the case of the "applied artists", mostly restored knitting) were practically indistinguishable from professional ones. We had the chance to look at many of them more closely even before the defences began, in the hall where they were displayed like exhibits at a fashion exhibition. Here are just some of those presented.

Of all the defences and shows devoted to down knitting, our team's attention was most drawn to the work of Ekaterina Golubtsova. Ekaterina restored the knitting of a down warm shawl from 1958. The essence of her project was to adapt the item to modern urban conditions; for this purpose she changed the proportions of the shawl.

The end result was worth the effort. The item shown at the defence can really be worn comfortably in the city, and at the same time it does not look old-fashioned or out of place at all in combination with other items of clothing and accessories, thereby dispelling the last doubts on the question "to wear or not to wear?". You can judge the quality of the work for yourself in the photos below, provided to us by the author of the concept herself – that very "city shawl".

The commission also highly appreciated Ekaterina's work. The high relevance of this concept was noted, and for our part we would add that her project has serious potential to popularise such items among younger age groups and to deal a blow to the stereotype that "down shawls are only for elderly people".

After the defence we had the chance to talk to Ekaterina for a while. The graduate told us that she plans to continue working within the craft, and we in turn wish her creative success and are convinced that she will develop many more interesting concepts that will be in high demand and popular.