Womenswear - "Blessing" skirt with top created within the framework of the In Circulation: Romani Design project

The “Blessing” skirt with top was created as part of the exhibition series In Circulation, launched by the Contemporary Design Department in 2018. According to the concept, the invited designer will select an object or ensemble of objects from the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts, and will create a new design as inspired by the object(s). Our fifth invited artist in the series is Romani Design founded by Erika Varga and Helena Varga in 2010. The sisters chose a total of six art objects from the collections of the museum. It is not by chance that these are all devotional pictures depicting either the Virgin Mary or other female saints, which provided the inspiration for the designers to create six enchantingly richly patterned women’s garments and coordinated accessories (see also 2021.515.1.; 2021.517.1-2.; 2021.518.1-2.; 2021.519.1.; 2021.520.1.; 2021.521.1.; 2021.522.1.).

The dress was christened Blessing, which refers to the blessings we have received from our families. The portraits of their mother and grandmother also recur in the central ornamental element of the dress made of black material: the golden crucifix. The Virgin Mary enamel pendants that Roma have a predilection to wear also appear in the pattern of a dress.