We are Alania Workshop. For several years we have been dealing with the reconstruction of the early Middle Ages, so we mostly specialised in early medieval clothes. Our main region, which we reconstruct, is the area of the North Caucasus, and more specifically the Alans from the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries. In addition, we have behind us an attempt to reconstruct the rural social strata from the areas of today’s south-eastern Poland from the 10th century. We not only sew historical costumes, but we are also active reenactors. We have a wealth of knowledge that we are constantly expanding, we do not stand still. In our work, we focus on the historicity of costumes based on historical sources, and as we always say – the first step to a good reconstruction is good fabrics.
Something about sewn clothes
We sew a variety of clothes, from the simple clothes of ordinary people to the richly decorated outfits of the elite. The dating of our products can be mostly closed in the 8th-11th century (early medieval clothes), but we also had the opportunity to sew clothes from earlier centuries several times, and make a Mongolian deel for the 13th century. We cannot unambiguously determine the geographical origin of the things we sew, because we have already sewed clothes, e.g. Sogdian, Slavic, Scandinavian, Kievan Rus’ and even costumes of Turkish nomads, but above all we specialize in Alan clothing. We use many materials to create clothes, but the main fabrics are wool, linen and silk. We learn about the materials and sewing techniques we use from scientific publications and museum exhibits.
Interpretation of coat from Izbornik of Sviatoslav
Some time ago we decided to sew a coat that would refer to the clothes of the characters depicted in the manuscript from Izbornik of Sviatoslav. The selected material is burgundy wool (referring to the painting as far as we could afford). The coat was also decorated with silk in a manner similar to iconography, and it also has a fur collar. In addition, it is lined with thin wool. This and all the outfits presented below are entirely hand-sewn.
Find the perfect burgundy wool!
Coat with a pleated seam at the waist
Taking an example from the icon of Saint Gleb from the 11th century, we sewed a caftan pleated at the waist. Thanks to the large circumference at the bottom, it gives freedom of movement, and at the same time looks really not trivial.
It was made of diamond-woven wool, which gives it a suitably rich look. As for the construction itself, it is cut at the waist, and then a pleated bottom was sewn on. The whole is finished with decorative buttons.
Another Alania's Work
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