A Minsk woman sews bomber jackets from her grandmother's blankets – prices start at $100.
Bedspreads with recognizable patterns that were in almost every family, carpets that hung on the walls of grandma's house for years - who would have thought that this would become the basis of a fashionable wardrobe. Kristina Zhavrid from Minsk told Office Life how she came up with the idea of sewing bomber jackets from those very bedspreads and why they are in such high demand.
Kristina Zhavrid is a theater director by education. At first, she worked in her field, doing productions, going to festivals, and then she became interested in hairdressing.
My "problem" is that all hobbies quickly become my job. Now I'm a professional hairdresser, and I'm booked for several months in advance. And this has almost pushed my theatrical life out of the picture. But this year, the sewing story with bomber jackets "shot off," and I realize that it is already pushing out my hairdressing business.
Sewing, inventing something, changing clothes - this is from my childhood. I have a very creative mother, she knows how to do so much! An anesthesiologist by profession, in the 90s, in order to raise children, she began to sew and knit for sale. That is, her hobby, which became a source of income, fed us."
"There were so many orders that I even got scared"
Kristina's brand is based on the philosophy of upcycling - when something old becomes a new, unique thing.
Since 2023, she has often shown original shirts on Instagram. From several old ones, Kristina created a unique new one. With unusual inserts, frills, lapels... And they were actively bought.
And this spring she sewed the first bomber jacket from a warm blanket.
"I was just surfing on Pinterest, I saw there a model of a jacket made of a blue and white blanket - exactly the same as I had in my childhood. I really love bright, unusual things. Yes, the base in my clothes can be restrained and classic, but I still often want colors. And outerwear is so rarely like that. Black, similar-looking down jackets, boring styles - it was difficult to find something that would please me.
Therefore, I got so excited, quickly found a similar blanket on "Kufar", bought it, washed it and sewed it in two evenings. I took a picture of myself in this bomber jacket in the park - and I got such a response!
I just noticed that the demand for shirts began to gradually fall, and I was not so much interested in it anymore. I realized that bomber jackets are a good topic. And in July I sewed five bomber jackets, and all of them were simply bought by my friends in one moment. I posted a photo on social networks, said that I was taking orders. And so many of them poured in that I even got a little scared. At some point, I had to stop taking orders, and I have several dozen people on the waiting list now.
I understand that I need to create a team that will sew all this, otherwise I will not be able to cope. But so far, my sister and mother mainly help me with the managerial aspects.
Before the story with bomber jackets, there were three hundred subscribers in my Instagram, and now there are 31 thousand. And this is without advertising and strong promotion. Real people and real coverage. I really appreciate it.
I have a sewing machine and an overlock at home. And the main problem is that there is nowhere to store the material, it is very bulky. I want my own separate workshop in Minsk, and I think I will have it in six months. I need a room where I can sew, take photos, pack... I plan to start sewing new silhouettes in the spring. Now I am making a classic bomber jacket model with an elastic band. But there are also requests for others.
I sew a lot now. I realized that it is impractical to sew one bomber jacket at a time: it takes a lot of time. Now I have organized the process like this: one evening I cut several pieces, the other evening I assemble and sew them, then there is finishing, then there is steaming. That is, every evening I have a new activity, so I don't burn out. And I made eight bomber jackets in a week."
A blanket can just lie in the closet for 30 years
"I buy blankets from people, I look for them on all kinds of websites, I go after them all over the city, they send them to me by mail. Sometimes I can buy a completely new one, it just lay in the closet for 30 years," says Kristina.
The prices are different - from 15 to 150 rubles. People sometimes have such treasures at home! Stacks of blankets, even something homespun from great-grandmothers. And they sell it! I take it, go, just hug it all and think: what a treasure I just bought!
Now I have also started sewing from velour blankets, remember, there were such ones with deer and bears in the meadow. It is difficult to find them in good quality, they wore out faster.
One bomber jacket needs a blanket one and a half by two meters or two medium ones. But there was an order for size XXXXL - it took two large blankets.
Bomber jackets are not repeated. Even if they are sewn from the same blankets, something is still added, some elements and colors.
Kristina makes bomber jackets in two versions: one - with a lining on cotton fabric, it is lighter. The second - on a thin padding polyester, a little warmer. They are ordered for the "European winter" and in St. Petersburg, where it is quite chilly.
- Are you not afraid that sooner or later these blankets will simply run out?
- No. I update the websites with ads every day, I make orders every day - and they are found every day. And I haven't even put up ads on the entrances of Khrushchev buildings! I think it will take several more decades for such blankets to disappear.
"Clothes that could unlock emotions"
The price of bomber jackets is from 330 Belarusian rubles.
"This will be the smallest size and cotton lining. On average, the price is 500 rubles, or 150 dollars,"
says Kristina. "How do people react to such a cost? In different ways. For example, under my reel, which went to a million views, there are about 400 thousand opinions. Yes, someone was indignant "So what, came up with a business, selling old stuff for such money!", and others argued with it.
I was pleased that many still understood the idea that I wanted to convey: these things are about childhood, love, protection. "It's like my grandmother is hugging me!", "I'm five years old, I'm back in the village, and I'm happy!" - that's what my buyers felt. And I'm glad that I was able to unlock these emotions and memories in people. This is also my move as a director in some ways.
In general, it seems to me that this trend for clothes made of Soviet recognizable fabrics is so popular because it returns us to our genetic code. To the history of the family and their village or city, to childhood, to the atmosphere that was at home, despite everything that was happening around, to the image of parents - young and strong - and small us, who have everything ahead..."
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