La Blouse Roumaine: The Universe on a Sleeve

A cultural icon with universal appeal, the Romanian blouse (ia) takes center stage in an event hosted by the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., that explores the famous sartorial item’s history, symbolism and the impressive artistic ability involved in its making. The past and present of the blouse, made famous by Matisse and the hippy generation, is discussed by a panel made up of Andreea Tănăsescu, founder of the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse social movement, Sonia Coman-Ernstoff, Fellow at Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery, James Deutsch, Curator and Editor at Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Bogdan Banu, founder of Romanians of DC, and the RCINY Director Dorian Branea.

The conversation is occasioned by the launch of the brand new La Blouse Roumaine Magazine, presented by its publisher, Andreea Tănăsescu. A small collection of traditional Romanian folk costumes from Bogdan Banu’s collection will be on display.

Andreea Tănăsescu is the creator and founder of La Blouse Roumaine movement that has contributed decisively to the rebirth and renewed interest in traditional Romanian culture on a global scale. She is the creator of the Universal Romanian Blouse Day, Brâncuși Week and Cultural Fashion Day and the President of La blouse roumaine IA Association, a non-governmental organization that promotes the preservation of the Romanian textile heritage, cultural and sustainable fashion. In 2017 Andreea started Give Credit that militates for culturally responsible design and now she is currently working on the development La blouse roumaine magazine. She studied Law and Public Relations and she has been involved in the fashion, media and movie industry for more than 20 years as a talent agent and casting director for major international film productions as The Fall by Tarsem Singh, Callas Forever by Franco Zeffirelli, Amen by Costa Gavras, Modigliani by Mick Davis. Sonia Coman-Ernstoff is a Romanian-born art historian and poet. She received a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. in Art History from Columbia, where she taught an undergraduate seminar on the soft power of ceramic arts across world cultures. As the Anne van Biema Fellow at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery, Dr. Coman is currently preparing a book manuscript on the formation and legacy of Charles Lang Freer’s collection of Japanese ceramics. Her poetry has been published and awarded internationally. Her latest book, Passages, was shortlisted for The Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Distinguished Book Award. Bogdan Banu is the Founder of Romanians of DC. In this capacity and as former President of ASTROM he has overseen the development and implementation of hundreds of professional and cultural activities aimed at building and promoting the Romanian community in the Washington, DC area. In 2015 he obtained the first official recognition of the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse when the Mayor of Washington, DC proclaimed Junes 24 as the Day of the Romanian Blouse in the city. The event has been marked every year by hundreds of Romanians dressed in folk costumes in front of the White House. Professionally, Bogdan is a seasoned Senior Program Officer at Meridian International Center where he manages numerous professional exchange programs funded by the U.S. and foreign governments. Bogdan has a M.A. in Political Management from the George Washington University and a B.A. in International Relations from Brigham Young University.

More info on the Textile Museum website.

This is a free event but prior registration is required at Eventbrite.

Featured photo by Alex Gâlmeanu