Velimir Khlebnikov, a perpetual homeless nomad, always poor and immersed in art, never cared about his wardrobe. Friends and relatives who knew about this trait tried to support the poet and gave him their own clothes. It is known that the warm kubanka hat was given to him by the sailor Kurnosov, whose grandfather once served for the Khlebnikovs.
Random disparate items of clothing never constituted in any way a harmonious ensemble, performing a purely utilitarian function. With that, the most useless accessory seems to be his factory-made silk tie in the English style, but Khlebnikov did not part with it and took great care of it.
The tie was presented to Velimir by Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, the “poet of the revolution” and a scandalous man. Mayakovsky early realized the importance of appearance in self-presentation and made clothes an expressive accomplice of his performances. He recalled the furor caused by the yellow ribbon tied like a huge tie, and adopted this way of shocking the public. This “fashion” also had practical significance: a wide ribbon could hide holes and scuffs on a worn shirt. Perhaps, in Khlebnikov’s wardrobe, the tie was supposed to fulfill the same role.
The relationship between Khlebnikov and Mayakovsky was not easy, there were both quarrels and peaceful periods. But the mutual respect between the teacher and the student remained unchanged. On October 24, 1915, the poet wrote in his diary that Mayakovsky called him (Velimir) “the king of Russian poetry.”
In September 1931 there was a famine in Astrakhan. By that time, Vladimir Khlebnikov was disabled and left his job. The five-room apartment, in which their large family once lived, became a communal apartment: strangers occupied two-thirds of the rooms. Many things, including a unique library and zoological collection, had to be sold. Vladimir Alexeyevich and Ekaterina Nikolaevna Khlebnikovs barely managed to survive on a meager pension. Vera Vladimirovna, the youngest daughter, organized the parents’ move to Moscow. It was decided that they were to take only the most necessary things from the old house, but even that took two carts.
Most of these miraculously preserved items were transferred to the museum by Velimir Khlebnikov’s nephew, May Petrovich Miturich-Khlebnikov. Among them was a brown tie with a geometric ornament, which was so treasured by the futurist poet.
