MAKERS SPACE: FIGHTING WITH FASHION

Ukrainian-born, Columbus-based artist Larissa Boiwka defends her country’s culture with art

By Sarah Sole / Photos by Jordan Middlebrooks Story Design by Victoria Smith

Derived from the Ukrainian word for warrior, Larissa Boiwka’s last name is usually translated as "firing squad."

While the 43-year-old Columbus resident doesn’t wield a weapon in the traditional sense, Boiwka is using needle and thread to passionately represent the traditions and culture of a country again at war.

“I’m not a soldier,” Boiwka said. “I can’t go there, and I can’t fight, but I can do my part to bring attention to all the beautiful things about our culture and make sure people understand what is really happening here.”

Growing up in a Ukrainian community in Lorain, Larissa Boiwka’s childhood was infused with the culture of the country that her grandparents were forced to flee post-WWII. Now the designer of couture corsetry, Boiwka has woven her heritage into her work.

With violence yet again forcing more of her family to flee Ukraine, Boiwka has begun working on a corsetry collection inspired by her Ukrainian heritage that she hopes will be ready to show within a year or so. When finished, the work will serve as not only a showcase of her skill, but an illustration of the talents and traditions native to the people of Ukraine. →

↓ Larissa Boiwka

“If we don’t support the people of Ukraine, all of these skills and arts will be lost,” Boiwka said.

Ukrainian traditions were something that Boiwka was exposed to from an early age. Growing up in a Ukrainian community in Lorain County, She and her brother, Michael, participated in Ukrainian folk dance groups from a young age and would perform at international festivals. The two would often sit at their grandparents’ knees, listening to stories of WWII.

Boiwka’s grandfather, Mykhailo, and her grandmother, Ksenia, were in a displaced persons camp in western Germany in the 1940s after the war. As Ukrainians were being sent back to their homeland, Ksenia had a terrible feeling about returning there. She convinced her husband to escape the camp, and the two came to the U.S. Their fellow Ukrainians who made the journey home were murdered by Stalinist Russians upon their return.

For Boiwka, a distinct relationship exists between the manner in which Ukrainian Americans left their homeland and the tenacity with which they hold on to the traditions they had there.

“None of these people wanted to leave Ukraine. They were forced to leave,” she said. “They keep these things because they consider this identity very dear and important.”

In Boiwka’s family, that identity was represented through art. Boiwka’s grandmother often embroidered altar cloths for her Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Skilled at sewing, she made her entire wardrobe and constructed Ukrainian folk costumes for Boiwka and her brother as soon as they were toddlers.

An affinity for creativity was strong in the family. Boiwka’s mother Beverly, of German and English American heritage, makes the traditional Ukrainian eggs known as Pysanky. From a young age, Beverly encouraged her daughter to explore a variety of different art forms, including sewing, embroidery, and beading—all crafts that Boiwka would later employ in her corsetry construction. →

From an early age, Boiwka was interested in sewing and costuming. In the early 2000s, she made her first corset for a costume she was working on. A very ambitious project, the corset was constructed out of leather.

“It was really quite good for the first attempt,” Boiwka said.

In 2007, Boiwka officially formed her business, Wilde Hunt Corsetry. Working with clients worldwide, she constructs couture corsets made to order for formal wear, weddings, evening events, couture costuming, and period pieces.

Her corsets, often adorned with embroidery and beading, are made from scratch from patterns Boiwka creates based on her clients’ measurements. While the basics of a corset can be constructed in a day, fittings and embellishments make the process more complicated. Boiwka typically juggles multiple projects at once and takes about six months on a corset from start to finish. A couture corset with lots of detailing could easily take over a year to complete.

Boiwka is known for her leatherwork, though she works with a variety of fabrics, including silk and even fine wool.

↑ Boiwka posing with fashion pieces

Though she’s never shown her work publicly in a gallery or runway show, she’s considering doing both for a Ukrainian heritage collection she’s started to work on.

One highlight of the collection will be the elaborately beaded collars of the Lemko culture native to Komancha, Ukraine, where her grandfather was from. Boiwka also plans to employ other artists and makers of Ukrainian descent who are skilled at sewing or embroidery.

The project was something Boiwka had been considering for about five years.

“I just didn’t feel ready for it,” she said. “It’s a huge responsibility to present the art in the correct way.”

Though Boiwka now feels confident in her skill, she’s also motivated by the war that the Ukrainian people are now facing. She realized she needed to show the public her culture and how rich and important it is.

“Now is the time,” she said.

Boiwka accepts commissions for her work via her website, wildehunt.com. She can also be found on TikTok at WildeHuntCorsetry. Scan here to see our feature of her on 614tv. →