A Designer Collection of Dresses Based on the Orenburg Down Shawl. Author – Darya Alekhina

In a sense, one can say that Darya comes from a dynasty of craftswomen. Her great-grandmother knitted Orenburg down shawls at a time when the craft was widespread in our region and was a way of earning a living for many. In fact, her great-grandmother taught her grandmother to knit, and her grandmother taught Darya's mother and Darya herself.

From early childhood our interviewee knew she wanted to become a clothing designer. To this end she enrolled in the design department of OSU, where she was one of the best students and became a qualified specialist in this field.

Darya was pushed towards the idea of creating this unusual and progressive graduation project by Lyudmila Norsoyan and her thesis supervisor Maya Yanshina. After that she went to a knitwear course in Moscow and visited many different exhibitions, and in the process this concept was born.

- I never liked shawls being called a relic of the past and the exclusive prerogative of grandmothers, - she says. - I do not agree that the craft is dying. At the same time, I believe something new needs to be brought into it.

Darya's project itself was unusual, bold and very difficult to carry out. It was clear that only a very experienced knitter could bring to life what the author had in mind. And such support was found in Roza Gumerova, who fearlessly took on bringing Darya's dress designs to life.

The result not only justified but exceeded expectations. It should be noted that even those who were initially sceptical because of the project's high complexity were amazed. And although Darya's idea was to create a clothing line for young people, the audience unanimously concluded that the models presented could be worn by people of any age and at any time of year.

She has a special attitude to the Orenburg down shawl. Darya is convinced that in a sense these items can be called "alive", and that each pattern carries its own unique meaning, which is reflected in her project. Here is what she thinks about it:

- When it comes to down shawls and items based on them, what matters to me is not only their appearance but, above all, their meaning, because the craft has such a rich and varied history. I am absolutely sure that into every pattern of every shawl the craftswoman put not only her soul but also a certain meaning, which is what makes these things unique.The concept of the collection starts with me – everything led to this theme: for several generations my ancestors have lived in the Orenburg region, my great-grandmothers knitted shawls and kept goats, one of my great-grandfathers was a Cossack, and my grandmother has knitted all her life and passed some of her knowledge on to my mother and me.

When I studied the phenomenon of the Orenburg down shawl, I noticed that it is full of symbols that only specialists can decipher. Some patterns stand for the earth, fertility, rebirth... And the first association with the word "earth" is its depths. That is why minerals (gneisses, amphibolite, jasper, argillite) became another source of inspiration.
The symbolic signs of the down shawl need to be talked about more widely – this will help people understand the gossamer shawlbetter and will raise its value in their eyes.

Now we can say with confidence that Darya has made herself known very loudly, and this will be a wonderful start to her path as a fashionable and famous designer.

- Of course I am going to continue with this, - she says, answering a question about her plans for the future and the prospects of the craft. - I will keep taking part in exhibitions and competitions and promoting my idea to the public. In Orenburg there are people interested in down shawls. In other cities there are interested people too, including young people. Interest in everything folk is reviving now.

On the whole, Darya is convinced that the craft has a future. An interesting fact is that she really knows how to inspire people. For example, after discussing her graduation project with a friend, the friend also wanted to learn to knit down shawls and asked her grandmother, also a former knitter, to teach her. So Darya knows what she is talking about when she says the craft has a future.

On behalf of our company, we would like to thank Darya for her time and wish her further creative success. For our part, we are very glad that among the younger generation there are such ambitious and talented people who are not just interested in the folk craft of our region but are convinced of its prospects and try to contribute something of their own, new and unique, so that Orenburg down knitting lives on and continues to develop.