The Day of the Cravat

 

The Day of the Cravat is not just one day, nor is it merely related to the cravat (or the necktie). The explanation of the meaning of the cravat and its appearances in the modern culture is as tangled as the knot that ties it. That is to say, the cravat is more than an ornament; it is the celebration of a person’s dignity, of the elegance that manifests itself in the display of this seemingly simple accessory, which figures as the centre for the overall fashion statement of the wearer, giving significance/meaning/purpose to their appearance.

Cravat Day is also sometimes referred to as the Day of the Cravat, and in some cases as Necktie Day, per another common English expression for the cravat, the (neck)tie.

As an addition to the most necessary parts of clothing, the cravat is a triumph of the aesthetic over the pragmatic, giving it the significance of cultural affiliation bearing centuries of antiquity. Both everyday and exceptional, the cravat is always a part of our attire – whether as we go to work on an ordinary day or during unique life events.

In that sense, Cravat Day is not just one day in a year, it is every day – just as the ways to understand the cravat are not exhausted in the appreciation of its colour or design, of different ways to tie the knot or the nonverbal message it carries, but are found in the sum of all the listed aspects, as well as beyond them. The cravat encompasses/holds its own prehistory, reminding of the Thirty Years’ War, during which the Croatian soldiers brought it on the world stage for the first time and where it gained the historic admiration of Louis XIV, who turned it into the greatest fashion success of the 17th century. In the modern age, it has become an almost mandatory adornment, not only on the suits of the businessmen or presidents, but also for the artist, the worker and almost any man, and even – taking the shape of an irresistible scarf – for numerous members of the fair sex.

The cravat is, therefore, more than just an ornament or a symbol establishing the wearer as trustworthy; it is also a medium sending a message to the world, just as we can read the cravats worn by others as a kind of visual conundrums, giving clues about their ideas, thoughts and points of view.

Fostering this tradition for decades, Academia Cravatica is the institution that initiated the establishment of Cravat Day on the 18th of October, which the Croatian Parliament unanimously accepted 2009.

Academia Cravatica is responsible for numerous cravat-related initiatives, from the tying of the cravat around the “neck” of the Pula Arena in 2003 to the international promotion of Cravat Day, as this neck ornament is celebrated year after year, throughout Europe as well as worldwide, right on Cravat Day.

Cravat Day calls for universality, community and connection, invites us to meet and communicate, while reminding us of our rights, responsibilities and obligations. Spreading the messages epitomized in the cravat demonstrates an acceptance of history, as well as a wish to build upon it towards the present and a readiness to accept new challenges in the future – an ideal incentive for establishments and institutions, companies and organizations, as well as for individuals all over the world, regardless of their whereabouts or line of work, to mark Cravat Day on the 18th of October, wherever they might find themselves and in their own distinctive ways.

Let us, therefore, disperse throughout the world – along with the cravat – the values wrought in this adornment!