Lumea minunata in care traieste designerul Liliana Larisa Craciun este lumea artei, frumosului si a traditiei romanesti. Impletirea documentarii, liniei si stilului dobandit in scoli si munca reala au scos la iveala un pastrator autentic al neamului romanesc si un desavarsit designer vestimentar. Liliana Larisa Craciun vine dintr-un tinut de poveste - Gura Humorului si traieste intr-un tinut real de poveste - Ciocanesti, satul unde casele sunt pictate, oamenii muncesc si arta este pasiune si stil de viata.
RF.ro: Munca este unul dintre cele mai bune antrenamente ale mintii, corpului si vietii. De la varsta frageda ati fost alaturi de rudele Dvs. pentru a invata cum sa coaseti, teseti si oarecum valoarea produsului si eficienta lui. Cum ati ajuns sa faceti si sa lucrati in moda?
Liliana Craciun: Am o specializare in economie, insa lumea modei ma fascineaza inca din copilarie. Totul a luat amploare cand am devenit mama. Avand trei fete, tot ce imbracau era cusut sau crosetat de mine. Mamele colegelor de scoala ale fiicelor mele ma rugau sa le confectionez si fiicelor lor rochite sau jachete asemanatoare cu cele imbracate de fetele mele. Dupa mai multi ani, fiind in Italia m-am inscris la o scoala cu specific de moda si design, la Insitutul Calegari si respectiv Accademia del Lusso Milano cu filiala la Roma. Am lucrat in backstage cu mari designeri ai lumii. Am inceput sa creez colectii de moda si sa prezint propriile creatii la diferite prezentari din Italia. Tinutele create de mine si ale altor colegi talentati au ajuns la New York, Londra si Tokyo datorita Academiei din Roma care a fost mijlocitor si promotor al studentilor cu anumite abilitati creative.

    My fashion collection entitled BLOOMING Spring-Summer 2022 aims to return to the roots through creation, with love and respect, the flowering of being with the rebirth of nature, putting into practice all the knowledge gained through study and lucrative experiences so far. I took with me the treasure of the Romanian soul, inherited from my mother, Aurora Crăciun, and the shirt of my father, Petru Crăciun, sewn on the woven fabric in the house. I took with me the world of the village, especially the commune of the open-air museum Ciocanesti, in the heart of Bucovina.

    The patterns sewn on the shirts are meticulous and required months of work, some are sewn in the light of the gas lamp in the winter when the chores of women in the household allowed them to take care of the work by hand. Each shirt talks about order and balance, thus becoming a genetic heritage and spiritual protection. The stitch patterns are derived from the solar cult such as the circle, the spiral in two parts or the "S" s, the cross in "M", the horns of the ram. In our area, we use floral combinations, stylized beech leaf, and acorn, as a praise to the birthplace and the surrounding nature.

    Man has always lived in harmony with nature. The folk shirt is a unique creation of the woman who had a decisive role in society. The woman takes care of the house and the garden, of the whole household. After marriage, her role was enhanced, taking care of the children and decorating the house, and the clothing of each member of the family was made entirely by the mastery and creativity of women. They prepared each part of the garment starting with the raw material that often came from their household. The thread is processed starting from its washing, butchered, knitted, twisted, dyed, woven, etc. The processed fibers were organic and we used mainly flax, hemp, silk, wool, depending on the areas of origin and climatic factors of those areas. Each sewn pattern represents protection for those who wore them. For example, certain symbols represent well-being, fertility, protection against negative elements. At the beginning of everything sewn or woven in the house, as I saw in my mother's house, prayers of blessing were said, for the increase and help in the realization of each piece. They put their trust in the Good God so that the work of his hands would be for health and happily be carried. Each new garment was worn primarily in the village church to receive "Divine" approval to wear, with God's blessing.

    In my view, the Renaissance takes place when we return to the roots using the cultural and spiritual values we are endowed with, thus using for our good the resources we have to embark on a new path in union, tolerance, and respect, to well-being and full love.

    I respectfully represent my country, Romania, which is a symbol of my existence on earth. I wouldn't be here if I weren't born in a wonderful place with smooth rivers and clear waters, towering firs, and secular forests, with “doine” whistles and worthy shepherds taking their flocks to rich places, with green grass. My country is the sea and the mountains, the high peaks, and the cold springs. A blessed place from which I draw my sap, like a mighty tree who’s stretching its roots to sustain itself, nourish itself, and become strong - thus helping the rebirth and existence of other species on earth. My country is what I carry in my soul with dignity and full love. I try to present part of our cultural heritage in every corner of the world to make known the value of a nation through its traditional art that brilliantly creates clothing in optimistic colors and symbols, representing the Renaissance and the way of life on earth and beyond, in “non-existence”.

    I especially like to use homemade fabrics, I love silk and organic materials, with respect for the nature around us and for the craftsmen who masterfully make unique things, exalting the strength and creativity of the simple man endowed with unique creative abilities, which we inherit and want to carry them on.

    My passion for clothing design began with the first creations I made for my daughters. In those years, the shops were quite similar to each other and made of a lot of synthetic material. I had the impression that we were all dressed in uniform. To exalt the beauty of childhood, the uniqueness, I started to make clothes for my girls. We made fabrics, knitted clothes, dresses and accessories, sweatshirts and various overalls, skirts and blouses, plush toys, and others, which they liked a lot and even bought because they looked special and were something other than what could be found on the market. My passion for handmade canvas and woven yarns developed in my daughter's childhood years using the example of my mother and grandmother who made unique pieces of homemade organic materials from raw materials, silk, linen, hemp, wool, and cotton. Everything was processed in the house, then the yarns were obtained by spinning, they were dyed in vegetable colors, then the canvas was woven in the manual weaving war, with unique motifs representing the house and the family they were part of.

    To understand how I could introduce this cultural heritage in today's fashion world, I enrolled in a prestigious fashion school in Italy. I studied at the Academia del Lusso Milano with a branch in Rome, Istituti Callegari Milano. I then continued the courses in clothing design and creation in Bucharest, at the Ilbah Workshops, Romania.

    I end here by expressing my immense joy to participate in the event of great professional value, RockStar Fashion Show Milan, Italy, organized by the esteemed Prasanna Weerasooriya and Patricia Aleman, thus allowing me to be able to represent Romania in an international context. In this way, I want to highlight through my creations the fact that Fashion goes hand in hand with History, thus helping us to understand where we come from and where we are going.

Best Regards, Liliana-Larisa Christmas, Fashion Designer