Queen Letizia of Spain Wears a Traditional Ukrainian Blouse

Today, Queen Letizia of Spain attended an event at the Mutua Madrileña Foundation in Madrid. Along with her black pants and heels, the queen wore a vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian embroidered blouse, to the ceremony, coming on the eighth day of Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine.

Of course, the queen’s choice of clothing is a pointed one: Spain is one of the 141 countries of the United Nations to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The vyshyvanka has been part of Ukraine’s culture for hundreds of years and has a rich history. Rather than being a specific embroidery style, it includes multiple techniques of thread work that can reflect different regions, cities, and even families within Ukraine. The vyshyvanka’s embroidery can signify health, happiness, and good luck, and each piece can take weeks to even months to embroider. The vyshyvanka is so ingrained in Ukrainian culture that there is even a day dedicated to it on May 19.

The vyshyvanka previously had a style revolution of its own and was a symbol of national pride within fashion throughout 2015, a year after the Euromaidan protests ended. Its signature motif began to show up in international fashion weeks thanks to Kyiv-based designers such as Ksenia Schnaider and Vita Kin, as well as the Ukrainian street style stars who wore these designs. Kin told Vogue in 2015: “I adapted this ancient heritage into a modern context, adding a ’70s vibe, when clothing was more relaxed and friendly. It’s a bohemian eccentricity in a very luxe execution.”

Queen Letizia isn’t the first notable figure to show support to Ukraine through style this week. First lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska posted a video of first lady of Latvia Andra Levite sending her support to the Ukrainian people while wearing a white iteration of the vyshyvanka, while Jill Biden wore a dress featuring the Ukrainian national flower, the sunflower, embroidered on its sleeve to the State of the Union address on Tuesday.