Ukraine's ambassador to Oman has once again found herself at the centre of a scandal over her choice of clothing
Igor Lisnoi writes about this on Facebook.
The scandal began with a post by graphic designer and researcher of Petrykivka painting, Igor Lisnoi. On his Facebook page, he posted a screenshot from the website of Yulia Katsyanova, owner of the fashion house VoleeYu. It shows several dresses and a women’s handbag featuring an ornament, which are labelled on the site as “Petrekivka”.
This is precisely what outraged Lisny. He stated that this was not traditional Ukrainian Petrykivka painting, but a variation of Russian khokhloma. In his post, he wrote: “This is khokhloma, not Petrykivka!!! This painting on Yulia Katsyanova’s designs has absolutely no connection to Baroque Cossack embroidery, nor to aristocratic embroidery in general, let alone to Petrykivka as stated on the website!!! Shame!!”.
The story quickly went beyond a mere discussion of ornamentation. As the publication notes, it was Olga Selikh herself who wore clothing from this collection at at least one official event. This refers to her visit in early January to the office of the Investment and Innovation Centre of the Sultanate of Oman and her meeting with its director, Ahmed Al Araimi.
In the photos that the diplomat herself posted on Facebook after this meeting, she was wearing a blouse with a pattern that Igor Lisny later publicly identified as Khokhloma. That is why the criticism was directed not only at the designer and her brand, but also at the Ukrainian diplomat who appeared in this outfit at an official event.
The article specifically notes that this is not the first time Olga Selikh has found herself at the centre of a public scandal over her clothing. The publication recalls that she recently found herself at the centre of a diplomatic scandal, which was also linked to an unfortunate choice of attire for official events.
Thus, this time the subject of the controversy was not only the style or appropriateness of the outfit, but also the cultural significance of the ornament itself. The scandal touched upon a sensitive issue for Ukraine — when a Russian decorative motif, according to a specialist researcher, is presented as Ukrainian Petrykivka, and then appears in an official diplomatic photograph.
As of the time of publication, the article does not include any public response from either Olga Selikh or Yulia Katsyanova specifically regarding Igor Lisny’s comments.
It should be recalled that the Municipal Consultative and Diagnostic Centre in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv has found itself at the centre of several high-profile scandals: legal disputes with medical staff, complaints about paid services, questions regarding the accessibility of dental care, and official responses and documents in which doctors are assigned not only medical but also financial targets.
