XTANT is an international platform bringing together traditional craft practitioners, artists, and designers from around the world. It creates a space for meeting, sharing knowledge and experience, and strengthening the international community of craft practitioners.
I participated in XTANT in 2025 and 2026. In 2026, my work was presented in the exhibition and at the marketplace, and I also took part in the Leadership Program.
My page on the XTANT website
Tel-Aviv, Israel, 2026
Photographer: Marina Vasilevskaya
Makeup: Lusy Mlk
Dress: Daniella Hajaj
Stylist: Johann Nikadimus
traditional headdresses in the photo project Between the Kingdoms by Dmitry Bulin for Multimedia Art Museum.
Moscow, 2025
Traditional headdresses in the creative photographic project FAIRYTALE SOUP by Natasha Yankelovich and Lena Tash. The project is inspired by characters from Russian fairy tales — Snegurochka, Matchmaker Baba Babarikha, and the Golden Cockerel — and the illustrations of artist Ivan Bilibin.
Photographer: Natasha Yankelovich
Stylist: Elena Tash
Model: actress Alyona Mikhaylova
Makeup: Tatyana Osipova
Clothing: Onsitsa, Masha Andrianova, Nastya Leonevskaya
Headdresses: Juhann Nikadimus
Post-production: Sergey Shmakov
Moscow, 2020
Tina Kuznetsova, lead singer of the folk-electronic music group Zventa Sventana, in traditional headdresses and accessories.
An art photo shoot featuring tiaras for Russian actress Varvara Shmykova, known for her work with directors Andrey Zvyagintsev, Kirill Serebryanikov, Eduard Oganesyan, and others.
Photographer: Marina Vasilevskaya
Tiaras and styling: Johann Nikadimus
Makeup and hair: Polina Ilyushina
Assistant: Eric Hayti
Backstage: Valery Abdrshin
Belgrade, 2024
My headwear in photo projects and the film The Fisherman’s Daughter by Uldus Bakhtiozina
Saint Petersburg, 2016–2020
Organisation and style: Really Wedding Agency
Idea: Marina Malloy
Photographer: Daria Artishcheva
Moscow, 2022
A layered wedding ensemble: a shirt, a Korotyonka vest, and a skirt. A handcrafted silk and vintage lace dress in collaboration with the Onsitsa brand by Lena Tash. Archive 2024.
A sleek triangle dress made of natural milky silk, a collaboration with Asya Sporykhina's Intro.Version brand. Archive 2024.
California, USA, 2023
Switzerland, France, 2026
Photographer: Lea Fery
My studio is located in a 19th-century house in the centre of a quiet, green town. This is where I spend most of my time: planning collections, constructing, drawing ornaments, embroidering, sewing, and welcoming guests. This is the kind of studio I dreamed of when I lived and worked in Moscow. Now I have opened my atelier in Novi Sad.
Harper’s Bazaar Italia features my work. The article presents my tiaras, diadems, and collectible jewellery, created using historical examples, hand embroidery, pearls, and goldwork, as well as the influence of Art Nouveau on my work.
The exhibition was organised by the Kaleidoscope of Culture festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, in 2024. It occupied two floors of the DISTRICT pavilion. Thanks to the organisers, I was able to invite friends to take part in the project: musicians, fashion designers, and photographer Marina Vasilevskaya. The large exhibition space made it possible to present the concept behind each piece, tell a deeper story about the creation of the works, and complement them with other artistic forms. More about the exhibition space can be found in the photo gallery.
Concept and tiaras: J. Nikadimus, Photographer: Marina Vasilevskaya, Composer: Maxim Westphalen, Harp: Tatiana Sycheva, Recording: Sofya Petkevich, Onsitsa dress: designer Lena Tash, Intro.Version dress: designer Asya Sporykhina, tailor Olesya Buldina, Organisers: Kaleidoscope of Culture team, Assistants: Larisa Makarova, Eric Hayti
We shot the third tiara collection on the streets of Istanbul in December, preparing material for a future exhibition in Serbia. The models were my friends and fellow designers Lena Tash and Nastya Leonevskaya. The clothing worn by the models is by Lena Tash’s brand Onsitsa.
Photographer: Yuri Guzeev, Models: Lena Tash and Nastya Leonevskaya, Assistant: Artem Michurin, Istanbul, 2022
My profile page on Homo Faber Guide — an international platform by the Michelangelo Foundation dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship and its makers. The Foundation supports craftspeople and develops projects focused on preserving and advancing craft traditions. In 2024, I participated in the Homo Faber biennial in Venice.
The third collection of cocktail and wedding tiaras, embroidered with pearls and beads, based on ancient techniques and original designs.
Photographer: Sofya Petkevich
Interview for Visit Distrikt Novi Sad. We talked about creating tiaras, historical pearl and gold embroidery techniques, and how traditional methods can evolve within contemporary art. I also spoke about the KEY4 collection and the exhibition held as part of the Kaleidoscope of Culture in Novi Sad.
KOROB KOROB is a menswear brand created by designer Ilya Varegin as a continuation of his work with Infundibulum. The brand is based on original tailoring, small-scale production, traditional cuts, and craft techniques. KOROB KOROB brings together clothing, handcraft, and the study of traditional culture, drawing on historical forms and the idea of clothing as part of a mythological world.
Oganesyan is a Russian clothing brand founded by designer Ksenia Oganesyan. The brand has been operating for over 12 years, with a showroom and production based in Moscow. Ksenia creates clothing in small quantities using her own patterns and predominantly fabrics from Italian manufacturers.
Photographer: Marina Vasilevskaya
Interview for Folkmania. I spoke about my path into the craft, working with historical examples, and creating contemporary tiaras based on traditional techniques. We talked about the history of the Russian kokoshnik, historical pearl embroidery techniques, and their place in contemporary art and design.
Manizha’s Russian Woman single cover for Eurovision 2021. My replicas of historical headdresses and a tiara were used for the special photoshoot. A 19th-century kokoshnik from the Vladimir Governorate was chosen for the main cover. Manizha also wore this kokoshnik on the red carpet in Rotterdam, representing Russia.
Photographer: Egor Shabanov
An international biennial of contemporary craftsmanship in Venice, held at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The exhibition was curated under the artistic direction of film director Luca Guadagnino and architect Nicolò Rosmarini, bringing together works by craftspeople from around the world and presenting craftsmanship as an integral part of human life and culture. In 2024, I participated in the biennial with my pearl tiaras.
Film and digital photographer: Marina Vasilevskaya
Model: Anđela Ševrt
Dress: Intro.Version x J. Nikadimus
Tiaras and veils: J. Nikadimus
Belgrade, 2024
Interview for the OBDN × Reebok project Heritage of Traditions. The feature brings together several artists and craftspeople working with traditional crafts and exploring ways to preserve and develop them in the contemporary world. We talked about historical pearl embroidery techniques, working with traditional costumes, and my approach to preserving and developing traditional craftsmanship.
Black velvet and silk are contemporary markers of luxury, while the foundation remains the same historical form and embroidery technique. I only slightly altered the silhouette so that the kokoshnik would work naturally with contemporary clothing volumes. Coloured velvet and silk were expensive and highly prized materials in the 18th and 19th centuries. I applied the same principle and approach to materials when creating a contemporary kokoshnik — in black.
Photographer: Marina Vasilevskaya, Model: Milena, Style: J. Nikadimus
The cover shoot for folk singer Tatiana Molchanova's debut album, Songs of Lidiya Ruslanova. Part 1, 2021. Tatiana is wearing a replica of a traditional crown, sewn with pearls based on an 18th-century portrait of the merchant woman Kusova.
![Cartier [SUR]NATUREL | private presentation — exhibitions, Johann Nikadimus (1/14)](/uploads/1e859c9a-fd60-4013-b0a0-754019aa1b50.jpg)
Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2021
Special guest artist at the private presentation of Cartier's Sur Naturel High Jewelry Collection. Visitors explored Cartier's historic tiaras before entering a recreated artist's studio, where they discovered the traditional Russian pearl embroidery technique that inspired the House of Cartier in the creation of its tiaras in the early 20th century.
I am Johann Nikadimus,
a Russian designer and embroiderer working with historical techniques of pearl and gold embroidery. My studio is based in Serbia.
Since 2015, I have been exploring the possibilities of traditional craftsmanship in contemporary design. Working with pearls, metal threads, and other materials, I create headdresses, tiaras, and jewellery. In my work, historical forms and ornamental motifs become the foundation for new, original interpretations.
My work has been presented at a Cartier exhibition in St. Petersburg. I am featured in the Homo Faber Guide by the Michelangelo Foundation and have participated in XTANT in Palma de Mallorca.
