Kokoshnik: a true Russian symbol

For a long time, an expensive and beautiful kokoshnik has been the most important part of the Russian women’s costume. And today, this headdress is gaining more popularity: it appears in the collections of the best fashion houses, it is worn for different shootings and at social events.

A kokoshnik is an ancient headdress of a married woman, one of the symbols of Russian costume. Its name is derived from the word “kokosh,” meaning a chicken. It is believed that the term took root among people since a kokoshnik resembled a chicken comb.

Today, historical documents fail to shed light on the sacred meaning of kokoshniks. But experts note that the reference to the bird could symbolize good health of the owner and her ability to give birth to many children.

Such a headdress has many names across Russia: kukushnik, kukuynik, or kokui. In the old dictionary, there even was a saying with the word kokui pronounced to a bride by the guests marking the success of her getting married. 

In marriage, a woman was supposed to carefully hide her hair, without a single strand getting loose from under the headdress: this was considered a shame, or even a bad omen.

In pre-Petrine times, noble ladies and peasant women used to wear kokoshniks. But at the beginning of the 18th century, Peter the Great  ordered that the subjects abandon the traditional Russian dresses and start wearing those worn in Europe. Since then, aristocratic women ceased to use kokoshniks. But among peasant and trade women, it was still adored and widely used. 

Most of the old kokoshniks from museum collections date back to the 18th–19th centuries. Many of them completely differ from each other. For centuries, this attire changed, spread to different territories, and acquired local features. It is no wonder that in different parts of Russia a kokoshnik got its unique features: it might have a high crest, look like a cylinder, or resemble a small puckered hat. Much depended on the climate of the region, the available materials, and the way people perceived beauty. 

A kokoshnik was always a very elegant and extremely expensive piece of clothing. It was considered a real treasure and was carefully passed from mother to daughter. Besides, it was a significant investment since some headdresses, especially those decorated with pearls and gold, cost as much as a whole house.

Women rarely sewed kokoshniks on their own. Usually, this was done by private craftswomen or workshops at monasteries since working with expensive fabrics and materials required special skills. 

These days, the definition of a kokoshnik is very vague. It is no longer necessary to wear it only when married, nor does it need to hide the entire hairstyle. Different headdresses can be named a kokoshnik, such as a diadem-like wreath and other headdresses with a comb. Experts criticize this approach and consider it erroneous, but a persistent stereotype has already formed in society. This has been in practice for centuries: even under Catherine II, when there was a vivid interest in everything Russian, stylized kokoshniks could cover only part of the hairstyle.

Decoration methods

Most often, ornaments embroidered with gold are found on kokoshniks. This technique is called “golden” or “gilded” sewing. The difference in names depends on the materials used. Golden embroidery is created from the finest threads of real gold or silver, whereas gilded sewing used gilded threads, which are based on silk, linen, or cotton.

The first to appear were threads made entirely of real metal. Gold and silver were flattened into the thinnest sheets, then cut into narrow strips, and dragged through thin tapering holes. As a result, a thread with a thickness of hair was obtained: round cut, faceted, or flat.

The master can embroider a pattern simply on fabric or use some overlay (cotton braid) or a template, usually a piece of cardboard that is glued or sewn to the base fabric.

---

Usually, a kokoshnik is a one-piece headdress with a solid elevation in the front. Nowadays, kokoshniks with a triangle-shaped comb and or an inverted crescent have become the most famous ones. A high and dense base was made from several layers of paper, cardboard, wood, or glued canvas. From above, it was covered with expensive fabric. The front side was decorated with pearls, embroidery of gold and silver threads, foil, glass, and other materials. The back side, as a rule, was completely covered with embroidered ornamental motifs: ears of corn, tree branches, flowers, birds. However, embroidery was often covered with a beautiful scarf or other fabric.

---

Another important type of decoration is sewing with pearls. It was used to create ornamental pendants and strings of beads, thus obtaining decorative nets of different patterns. The most common way of doing so is to sew a linen or cotton thread to the fabric as per the drawing and then, using special stitches, attach pearls or beads onto it. 

After the ban of Peter I, kokoshniks remained in disfavor for less than a century: already under Catherine II, it reappeared at the court — but this time as a symbol of love for the Russian culture. The Empress emphasized her connection with the people: at the Hermitage meetings she spoke only Russian and dressed up folk costumes. This image was perfectly complemented by a stylized kokoshnik. Following her, Russian attire was appreciated by other ladies of the court.

---

A soroka is a headdress made up of many separate parts. The first part is the inner base in the form of a kichka decorated with pendants, ribbons, etc. Above was the main detail — the soroka itself, a soft piece of fabric. Usually, it looks like two perpendicular stripes: the first part covers the forehead and the head from the sides, the second part goes from the forehead to the back of the head.

---

The next round of popularity happened after the victory in the war with Napoleon: Russian aristocrats began wearing sundresses and stylized kokoshniks.

In 1834, Nicholas I issued a decree that introduced a new uniform dress for court ladies. This costume resembled a sundress and was complemented by a headdress: a headband for unmarried ladies and a kerchief or a kokoshnik for married women. As before, the headdresses used by aristocrat women were strikingly different from those worn by peasants: ladies moved them far to the top of their heads, wore them in the form of a diadem, curled some open ringlets of hair. Nevertheless, such a kokoshnik remained in the wardrobe of the ladies-in-waiting and state ladies until the revolution.

---

A kichka is an ambiguous term. Most often, this word refers to an old women’s headdress sewn from two parts: a soft cap, which hides the hair, and a hard part sitting over the forehead. The hard part was made of birch bark, a piece of wood, or a stitched canvas and could be in the shape of horns (a horned kichka), a hoof, or a spade. Additionally, it was decorated with beautiful fabric. Kichkas could be used as a finished headdress or as a base for a soroka.

---

In the second half of the 19th century, interest in collecting Russian antiquities blossomed. This was evident in many areas of culture: architects created buildings in the neo-Russian style, artists painted fantasy paintings of 17th-century ladies and heroes of fairy tales in old Russian costumes. Konstantin Makovsky became one of the most popular painters: many portraits of young women dressed in fabulous kokoshniks belong to his brush.

The pinnacle of this fashion was a costume ball dedicated to the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. On February 26, 1903, guests arrived in the Winter Palace wearing 17th-century dresses. True professionals took part in the creation of the outfits: historical information was provided by the director of the Hermitage Museum, sketches and tailoring were performed by employees of the Imperial Theaters, famous artists, fashion designers, and jewelers, in particular, Eugene Faberge, the eldest son of Carl Faberge.

Almost 10 years later, on the eve of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, a special deck of playing cards called “Russian Style” came out. The drawings of jacks, kings, and queens were inspired by the photographs of the guests of that famous ball. Most of the sketches were just a stylization, but two outfits completely resembled the real ones: queen of hearts was Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, and queen of clubs was Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine.

Source: cultura.ru