3 July 2018

Aprons with integrative character: The traditional dresses by Platzhirsch Dirndlerei show Austrian identity prints

Nowadays even well-integrated Austrian citizens may ask what belongs to the country's identity. Take a look at the aprons of the traditional dirndl-dresses by Styria, Bad Aussee-based Platzhirsch Dirndlerei, founded around 10 years ago by Bettina Grieshofer. The dirndl left shows the 'Österreich'-apron, the 'Austria'-apron depicting landmarks of the country's nine federal states like the 'Goldene Dachl' (Golden Roof) in Innsbruck (Tirol) or identity-building expressions of culture producers such as composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or the waltz folk dance 'Ländler' which stands for socializing community-festivals.

The image right (below) shows another puzzle of the self-image of the Austrians: The romantic story between the commoner (daughter of a postmaster in Bad Aussee) Anna Plochl and Archduke Johann von Österreich carries the vision of a society free from civil differences which are nowadays not so much caused by a class society divided by aristocracy or other attributed dispositions but powered by the probably in some cases arbitrarily handled administration of so-called 'integration agreements' which can be received by Austrians as well.

fig.: Platzhirsch Dirndlerei dress (dirndl) consisting of top (made from Carinthian linen), skirt (cotton fabric from Styria), mother of pearl buttons from Lower Austria,... The aprons are made from cotton (like on view here on this page), silk or from loden (wool) and can be combined individually to the basic dress (top + skirt + blouse); some combinations can be configured via Platzhirsch's Dirndlkonfigurator; for more experimental dirndl remixes, the Dirndlerei has to be contacted directly. Photo: (C) Astrid Steiner-Fischer. Right: 'Anna Plochl'-apron.

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