Између моде и нације: национални костим и репрезентација кнегиња и краљица у Србији 19. века

Abstract

У сплету културолошких значења, одећа као исказ националног идентитета имала је моћан капацитет у сфери владарске представности. Пракса националног костима као одевне варијанте владара повезивала је у жељеном идејном обрасцу ауторитет круне и „замишљену заједницу”. У јавној репрезентацији српских кнегиња и краљица 19. века национални костим имао је управо такву значајну улогу, преведен у сферу њиховог свечаног орната. Путем официјелних визуелних представа и писаних извора, рад ће се бавити овом функцијом костима и његовим континуитетом у наведеном периоду.

The representation of a monarch in 19th century Europe could no longer rely on the old system, based on the idea of divine authority and absolutism. Royal public appearance sought different visual signs for the projection of political authority and legitimacy. The monarch’s garb and its rhetorical dimension as an important part of the representational strategy also required careful consideration, in dialogue with changing political and cultural ideas. Especially for the queens, the dress had a central role in their royal appearance, but at the same time, reliance on the fashion and haute couture was, in a way, a potentially unstable field. Rapid changes of fashion trends and the essence of novelties stood against tradition and stability, much needed to a royal political body. One of the strategies for negotiating royal power through wardrobe was intertwining it with the idea of a nation. As an already established practice, the royal garb which cited parts of the national costume was especially effective in displaying the close connection between the monarch and the “imagined community”. Such use of the national costume was the main strategy in the public appearance of Serbian princesses and queens of the 19th century. From the time of Princess Persida Karađorđević to Queen Natalija Obrenović, the national costume was established as their main ceremonial attire, which effectively produced the vision of tradition and national legitimacy. This type of costume was the socalled “Serbian urban costume”, which appeared among the urban elite in the late 1820s, created as the combination of various elements of Balkan costumes. At the time of Serbia’s emancipation from the Ottoman Empire, this costume soon became considered national. With that notion, it had a powerful role in the creation of Serbian princesses’ public image, giving them the desired aura of nationhood. The strategic use of the national costume was at the beginning of the 20th century continued with Queen Draga Obrenović, but with the shift towards the idea of historicism. She invented her own state robe in the form of a Serbian medieval princely costume, invoking the national “golden age” in an attempt to enhance her royal image.