‘Friendship of the Peoples Fountain’ Shawl

This sumptuous classic shawl entitled ‘Friendship of the Peoples Fountain’ is the utmost representation of the Stalin’s Empire style. The fountain itself is a signature landmark not only for the VDNKh (currently All-Russia Exhibition Centre), but also for the Soviet-era Moscow, which is the reason why the Gourji designers have picked it out for this collection.

All design elements are presented as a large-scale top view. Depicted in each corner of the shawl are stylised  sheaves of grain serving as a frame for the central part. The magnificence of colour and composition in this shawl is further enhanced by a centrally placed circle with five-pointed stars, leaves, crosswise entwined ears of wheat and five more sheaves of grain. Since the fountain was supposed to embody the ideals of friendship between the peoples of the USSR, the central circle, the main design element, is surrounded by the figures of sixteen girls wearing national costumes to symbolise the unity of the Soviet republics. A noble colour combination of golden, dark-blue, grey and black coupled together with an opulent classic ornament of the main field and the border imparts the ‘Friendship of the Peoples Fountain’ shawl with a touch of austerity and solemnity.