The Heritage Officer Jacket – Black Wool & Gold Embroidery

2025-02-18T19:35:22+02:00

Prix : 400.50

Garment type: Short black wool jacket decorated with golden soutache (giatane) — a contemporary reinterpretation of the laibăr (short festive coat) or suman de sărbătoare specific to Gorj County, a sub-region of Oltenia in southwestern Romania.

Cultural area: Gorj, Oltenia, an area known for its rich artisanal traditions, transitional between pastoral highlands and urban influence.

Open here the curatorial file

Function: Originally a festive garment, worn for fairs, weddings, or religious holidays; today, a heritage-inspired statement piece reintroduced into modern fashion.

Fabric: Densely woven black wool (postav), structured but soft.

Cut: Straight silhouette, hip-length, set-in sleeves.

Collar: High standing collar — an element borrowed from 19th-century military dress and late 19th–early 20th century urban jackets.

Closure: Central fastening with looped frog closures formed by the soutache itself, echoing traditional husar uniforms.

Finishing: Continuous decorative edging along hems and seams — both aesthetic and structural, reinforcing the jacket’s precision.

Historical Lineage & Fashion Crossroads

Military influence: The ornamental vocabulary — frog fastenings, laurel motifs, epaulettes — clearly descends from Hussar and officer uniforms of the 18th–19th centuries, which inspired both urban tailoring and folk costume embellishment.

Urban interwar reinterpretation: Between 1900–1935, black wool jackets with gold soutache became symbols of refined modernity in Romania’s urban centers, merging folk craftsmanship and military formality.

Contemporary revival: The piece in the image is a modern restitution — simplified in proportion, preserving traditional hand techniques while achieving a cosmopolitan aesthetic aligned with military tailoring in current global fashion.