Etnodim's new shirt patterns are based on Mykola Bytynskyi's artistic interpretations of a trident.
8761 03.04.2025
Mykola Bytynskyi was a Ukrainian heraldic and graphic artist, poet, researcher, and art historian.
He was born on November 24, 1893, in the rural settlement of Lityn, located in the historic region of Podilia. He joined the army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) at the age of 26. After enduring captivity and fleeing persecution, Mykola ended up in the internment camps in Poland following the defeat of the UPR. It was also a place where Bytynskyi started his active cultural and educational initiatives.
He wrote poems and memoirs under the pseudonym Mykola Overkovych. His body of work consists of over 50 coats of arms, emblems, and awards.
He was also the designer of the Cross of Symon Petliura - the UPR army’s veterans' main award.
Aside from that, he completed the 1917-1920 album of UPR Army uniforms. Nowadays, it belongs to the Ukrainian Museum and the Library of Stamford but continues to be exhibited around the world.
One of the most intriguing elements of this album is its artistic interpretations of the trident. The blending of graphics and symbolism, floristic and geometric backgrounds, and rich yet gentle color palette drew our attention.
Our research department reached out to the Stamford Museum’s curator, Liubov Volynets, to get a permit for the utilization of Bytynsky's copyrighted tridents, and these interpretations became the foundation of the design of Etnodim's new capsule collection shirts.
The collection consists of women’s and men’s shirts in two colors – one with restrained monochromatic embroidery and another featuring colorful stitching.
The patterns on these shirts explore the theme of patriotism, but our goal was to design something that allows you to confidently yet gracefully declare your Ukrainian identity.
