Festival dedicated to the Romanian ie to take place in Bucharest June 23-25

IEsc, an urban, contemporary, Romanian festival dedicated to the ie, the traditional Romanian blouse, takes place from June 23 to 25 at CREART in Bucharest.

To mark the day of the ie, celebrated on June 24, Bucharest hosts a festival that will include an exhibition by Art Safari showcasing traditional blouses and folk costumes, projections, and creative workshops for children, an authentic urban gathering, and a fashion parade reinterpreting the blouse in streetwear aesthetics.

IEsc kicks off with an exhibition of ethnographic heritage titled "The Art of the Blouse with Altita - Cultural Identity Element in Romania and the Republic of Moldova." The show will highlight the Romanian ie, its inspiration, and its symbols.

"We are thrilled with the promotion of the ie, an element of identity that has been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List since December 1, 2022, through the continuity of the IEsc project - urban, contemporary, Romanian, at CREART - Grădina cu Filme. The institution supports the revitalization of this popular garment that has become a national brand and a constant source of inspiration through its meaningful motifs,” said Claudia Popa, director of CREART.

“The blouse with altita is a valuable piece of traditional clothing, a symbol of our culture that transcends time and space, representing craftsmanship and an inclination towards beauty,” she added.

On Saturday, at 8:00 PM, people are invited to come together to manually weave home fabric and sew traditional shirts.

Guided tours of the exhibition, workshops on the "Craftsmanship of Textile Arts in Decorating the ie" (for visitors over 16 years old), creative workshops for children (ages 6-12) inspired by representative symbols of the traditional blouse, fashion presentations, and documentary screenings will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25.

"In general, the Romanian traditional costume has the white shirt as its main piece. From childhood to death, the shirt accompanies the peasant in fieldwork and celebrations, including weddings. Shirts with altita (a rectangle placed on the shoulder) develop specific characteristics in each sub-region of the country, while having a common structural pattern. This structural element, altita, has a specific typology in embroidery and the arrangement of ornamental fields, and the blouse with altita was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage under the name 'The Art of the Blouse with Altita - Cultural Identity Element in Romania and the Republic of Moldova' at the end of 2022," said Silviu Ilea, the exhibition curator.