Ārija Skudra’s Solo Exhibition “The Queen of Hats and Her Batiks”
2026. March 13 – June 21
2026. On March 13, a solo exhibition by artist and fashion designer Ārija Skudra, “The Queen of Hats and Her Batiks,” was opened at the Ogre History and Art Museum. The exhibition showcases her vibrant creative life’s contribution – from felt hat design to batiks.
Ārija Skudra (born March 3, 1942, in Ciemupe) is one of Latvia’s most significant fashion and hat designers. From 1970 to 1994, she worked at the Riga hat and felt products factory “Rīgas Filcs,” where she created prototypes for women’s, men’s, and children’s headwear for mass production. These works became a benchmark for good taste and quality; they were regularly showcased at fashion shows in Riga, Minsk, and other USSR Fashion Houses in Latvia and abroad.
“An elegant woman cannot exist without a felt hat!” – this conviction characterized the aesthetics and professional approach of her era. Hats were made from high-quality felt – goat, sheep, merino, rabbit, and hare wool, with minimal chemical fiber admixture. Fashion trends changed, and the designer, who worked for a long time at “Rīgas Filcs,” followed them, creating several hundred prototypes. Her hats vary in shape, ranging from the popular canotiers, berets, and wide-brimmed hats of the 20th century 60. to the compact, close-fitting hats with exquisite details popular in the 20th century. 80. The headwear created by the artist was frequently used in fashion shows, and after their introduction into production, many bought and wore them. However, at that time, the names of mass production authors, including hers, were not indicated on the product trademarks. Therefore, the exhibition “The Queen of Hats and Her Batiks” is a conscious step to include Ārija Skudra’s name in the history of Latvian fashion design of the second half of the 20th century.
The artist received her art education at J. Rozentāls Riga Art Secondary School. Ārija Skudra did not manage to obtain higher education. However, throughout her life, parallel to her work at the hat factory, she engaged in painting. 1966. In 1976, she began attending the Painting Studio at the Culture House of the Tram and Trolleybus Department and regularly participated in exhibitions organized by amateur artists with landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and figural compositions in oil technique. Following the advice of the studio director, artist Nikolajs Petraškevics, Ārija Skudra mastered the batik technique, developing her individual style. In batiks, created from the 20th century 70. to the beginning of the 21st century, the artist’s ability to create generalized figural compositions and nature motifs with a distinctly decorative character and virtuoso line rhythm is most convincingly revealed.
Ārija Skudra has been a member of the Latvian Designers’ Union since 1990.
The exhibition features hats from the collection of the National History Museum of Latvia, batiks from the artist’s collection, as well as copies of images from the magazine “Rīgas Modes” from the National Library of Latvia.
Exhibition Curator: Mg. Art Irēna Bužinska
Exhibition Scenographer: Ineta Sipunova
