Zagreb’s most famous monument will be one of the many city landmarks sporting a new look for the Cravat Festival.
One of Croatia’s most important and globally present symbols – the necktie, or the cravat – is getting a festival dedicated to it – the Cravat Festival. In addition to Cravat Day, celebrated on October 18 and organised by Academia Cravatica, this will be the first time a festival dedicated to this omnipresent fashion accessory will take place in Zagreb, Zagrebancija reports on October 10, 2017.
Starting on October 14 and ending on October 18, the Festival will bring activities and programmes celebrating the cravat as a movable cultural heritage not only in Croatia, but in Europe, with the aim of spreading awareness that Croatia is the homeland of the necktie, and that Zagreb is its capital.
The Festival starts on October 14 when different ties and cravats will be placed on monuments of famous people from Zagreb’s history – Ban Josip Jelačić, King Tomislav, August Šenoa, Marija Jurić Zagorka, Većeslav Holjevac, Petrica Kerempuh, and others. The official opening ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. next to the city fountains, featuring a performance by the Cravat Regiment’s Drum Orchestra, the honour guard’s line up, and a light show with a City of Zagreb – Cravat Capital theme, which will stay on until the Festival’s end. The first day will end with a Cravat Party at Opatovina, at Tolkien’s House and Veliki Tolk pubs, with a necktie as part of the dress code.
On Sunday, October 15, citizens will be able to enjoy a historic-military spectacle at St. Mark’s Square with the changing of various guards, led by the Cravat Regiment, with 60 historic guard members participating in the event. In addition to the Cravat Regiment, members of Zrinska garda Čakovec, Turopoljski banderij Plemenite Općine Turopoljske and Počasna zaštitna bojna OS RH will also be there.
Kravat pukovnija, Facebook
On Wednesday, October 18, the main celebration of Cravat Day will take place at Europski trg, featuring the Croatian-European Cravat, an art installation by Dinko Domaćinović, followed by a special programme and changing of the guard at St. Mark’s Square, which will also be the regiment’s final changing of the guard this year.
The Nažigači, who are in charge of lighting Upper Town’s gas lamps every night, will also be wearing the ties during the Festival, as well as the city’s street sweepers in the centre.
In addition to the Festival, another event dedicated to this important fashion accessory will take place at the French Institute’s Médiathèque, on display November 6 – 11. The exhibition will honour the 350th anniversary of naming the cravat and it entering the haute couture scene. The French connection is important for the history of the necktie because French soldiers recognised and spread the word about the accessory when they saw Croatian soldiers wearing them in the 17th c. The boy-king Louis XIV started wearing it first, and then it started a fashion craze.
Academia Cravatica
As with all other necktie-related events in the city, the exhibition is supported by the City of Zagreb Tourist Board and the City Office for Educationa, Culture and Sport.
Find out more about the necktie by visiting a digital exhibition available at academia-cravatica.hr.
Translated from Zagrebancija.com.
