Dozens of women's folk blouses 'ia', needlework techniques, pattern and design boards, embroideries, lace and samples of materials used by needlework artists are showcased in the exhibition 'The Chronicle of the Needle, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Top Sleeve Embroidery Blouse' organized by the Parliament's Joint Standing UNESCO Committee in partnership with the 'Semne Cusute' Association.

The exhibition opened on Tuesday in the 'Constantin Brancusi' Hall of the Palace of Parliament, in the presence of several MPs and representatives of public institutions; it will stay open until September 30.

'I conceived this exhibition, first and foremost, as an act of education: about authenticity, about cultural responsibility and about how heritage can become a resource for the future. The blouse with shoulder embroidery is no longer just a heritage item. It is a living textbook. (...) Each stitch is a lesson in patience and meaning. Educating for heritage means developing the ability to recognize the original, to respect authenticity and to reject fakes. The exhibition mounted together with the 'Semne Cusute' Association is a practical lesson. It shows us how simple cloth becomes art through traditional techniques, how patternless cutting respects balance and how the community manages to pass on knowledge. It is proof that education through heritage was, is and will remain alive and actual,' said the chair of the UNESCO Parliamentary Committee, Dumitrita Gliga.

She stressed that Romanian women practiced 'slow fashion' long before the term existed, and 'the shirt was not just a garment, but a purposefully sewn heritage, made of natural materials, full of symbols, and meant to last across generations.'

'I, too, have many blouses that have been carefully preserved in my family. But there is one that is particularly dear to me. When I wear it, I feel the strength of my great-grandmother who sewed it with all her love. It is a strength that comes from the Romanian DNA, from the love of our ancestors and from the identity that I carry with me. (...) Our role, as Parliament and as part of UNESCO, is to support these educational processes, to render them visible and to build policies to protect authenticity. But the role of each of us, as citizens, is equally important: to wear the shirt, to understand it in depth and to pass it down intact to the future generations. (...) The blouse with top sleeve embroidery is not just heritage, it is a life lesson, a living textbook of our identity. The exhibition 'The Chronicle of the Needle, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Top Sleeve Embroidery Blouse' shows us that education through heritage remains a living force, which shapes our present and inspires our future,' deputy Gliga said.

Managing director of AGERPRES National News Agency, Claudia Nicolae, highlighted the agency's role 'in constantly supporting initiatives that highlight Romania's authentic identity and traditions'.

'AGERPRES is honored to be a partner of the Romanian Parliament's UNESCO Committee in supporting this endeavor. Through its mission of promoting national values, protecting and transmitting cultural heritage and educating the public, the National News Agency constantly supports initiatives that highlight Romania's authentic identity and traditions,' Claudia Nicolae underscored.

The collection of old shirts on display includes pieces of clothing from Mehedinti, Teleorman, Muscel, Bucovina, Vrancea, which offered the founder of the 'Semne Cusute' Association, architect and designer Ioana Corduneanu, 'lessons about cuts and pragmatism with just few resources'.

'Although I also studied books, they offer you solutions designed by a researcher's mind, but when you study a woman's handwork, you see simple solutions that no one has ever transcribed into words - they are the practical tricks of the trade. We are talking here about materials that existed before industrialization - silk, linen, wool, hemp, cotton, stitching, embroidery - a model rendered in 15 variations, and that's not all. Using a needle, you can create multiple textures with the same type of thread. The aim of the exhibition is for people to realize that the steps to accomplish such items are simple and they can either try to sew their own shirt, or assess the piece of clothing they buy, to see if it meets at least part of the criteria set out here,' said Ioana Corduneanu. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Livia Popescu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)