Photo by @Asset.Photos
It was my first time in Almaty. I did not know what to expect from the city, from the country, or from the fashion week, but I was genuinely excited. Not only because I had heard about the mountains and the food, but also because of the brands I was going to see. There is something refreshing about stepping outside the main fashion calendars. Paris, Milan, London. They are wonderful, but they can feel predictable sometimes. New talents from places you do not visit every season? Those are often the best surprises, and usually, I come back with real discoveries.
“We are witnessing the birth of a new type of international dialogue through fashion. This season, we are focusing on cross-border synergy: from our strategic alliance with Budapest (BCEFW) and the long-awaited debut of Maison ARTC to the scaling of the Next Designer Award empowered by Visa platform. We are setting our sights on Tashkent, where we plan to hold the final. This is the essence of our ‘SEEING AND BEING SEEN’ stereo effect, that moment of truth when the world sees us, and we see the world“, notes Bauyrzhan Shadibekov, CEO of VFWA.
Before I talk about what I saw, let me say something about heritage in fashion. Too often, heritage is treated as decoration. A pattern here, an embroidery there. But real heritage is different. It is not a souvenir but a living language. It shapes how you cut a sleeve, how you choose a fabric, and how you think about proportion. The best designers do not borrow from their culture but speak from inside it, and when that happens, the clothes carry weight and memory. They also carry the future, because heritage is not static. It argues with itself and changes.
In the mainstream fashion industry, we have seen too many examples of designers taking from other cultures without respect and without context. A sacred symbol becomes a print, or a traditional garment becomes a trend for one season and then disappears. The original meaning is lost, and the people who belong to that culture are neither credited nor compensated. What makes appropriation different from appreciation is relationship. Are you in conversation with the culture? Do you understand the weight of what you are using, or are you just taking it because it looks “exotic”?
What I found in Almaty was the opposite of appropriation. These designers are not performing their identity for a Western audience. They are not borrowing from their neighbors without asking. They are using their own traditions as grammar. They follow global trends like loose silhouettes and layering and deconstruction, but they add something else: a unique angle that comes from the region’s influences and everyday life. That is the difference between fashion that travels with integrity and fashion that just takes. These designers live inside their culture. They are not visiting it for inspiration.
On a different note, many fashion weeks give most space to womenswear, with menswear becoming an afterthought. Not here. The schedule of Visa Fashion Week Almaty had a nice balance, which is rare, and made the whole event feel more complete. You did not get the sense that menswear was just filling a gap or serving as an interlude before the main event. Each presentation carried equal weight. Each designer, whether showing for men or women or both, got the same attention from the audience. The focus did not shift, and that tells you something about how this fashion week is organized. For someone who has sat through too many fashion weeks where menswear feels almost like an obligation, this was a relief.
The materials stopped me first. Fabric quality was high. You could feel it from where I stood. Thick cotton, dense wools, unexpected textures, and vintage textiles. Nothing felt cheap or rushed. These designers know their materials because they grew up around them or because they spent years learning from local artisans, and the result is clothing that feels grounded.
Fuzzz (Kazakhstan)
Vasily Voinov, Liza Slesareva, and Chihun Jeong showed a collection inspired by footbal, that had just a few pieces. But those few pieces were modeled by models who kept returning. Again and again. The same looks. The same walk. It became an almost infinite loop. Sitting there, I looked at people’s faces. They looked so confused. That was fun to watch. Interesting too. Talking with Chihun Jeong later, he told me the idea was almost like making the fashion show a performance. He wanted to see how long it would take the guests to go back to their phones, or even to leave. The brand always uses fashion shows to provoke something. In this case, they did.
Photos by @Karpenko__ph
Maison ARTC (Morocco)
Artsi Ifrach brought a unique universe to Almaty. He works with vintage pieces and authentic Moroccan fabrics. Each piece is one of a kind. You will not see the same item twice. His philosophy is sustainable production as a method. The collection felt like a dialogue between art and handwork. No waste and no pretending. What struck me was the patience in every stitch. These were not clothes rushed for a deadline. They were assembled slowly and carefully, with respect for the materials. Artsi preaches absolute authenticity and cultural heritage in a contemporary context. Standing there, watching those pieces move, I believed him.
Photos by @epov_
YESYES! (Kazakhstan)
Esmukhan Esbolat won the sixth season of Next Designer Award empowered by Visa, and you can see why. He turned rural life and 2000s nostalgia into something rare. His collection “BITPEYTIN TOY” used plastic textures and sofa plush. That sounds strange on paper but it looked honest on the runway. He found poetry in everyday celebration materials. The glittering chaos of Kazakh toys, the family parties, the heavy fabrics from living room furniture. Esmukhan is not borrowing from the West. He is looking at his own surroundings and saying a confident “yes” to them.
Photos by @epov_
Manuk Aleksanyan (Armenia)
“Effect Placebo” explored clothing as a confidence tool. The collection examines the invisible power of belief and how it transforms a person’s presence. Silhouettes moved between rigid structure and fluid freedom. One moment sharp and controlled. The next, loose and breathing.
Photos by @epov_
Gazhaiyip (Kazakhstan)
Akbota Kasymbek presented “Kökpar,” an interpretation of the national game. But do not expect folkloric clichés. Instead, movement and concentration, and the strength of a rider translated into modern structures. The textures were expressive and technical. You could see the fluidity of a horse race in a jacket’s cut. You could feel the tension of the game in a pair of pants. Akbota works with themes of struggle as a universal human condition. That is what makes this collection work. It is not about Kazakhstan as a postcard. It is about the inner concentration every person needs to move through the world.
Photos by @epov_
Leonid Zherebtsov (Kazakhstan)
“RE-BORN” treated tradition as a starting point. The designer said: “We do not copy the past. We engage in a dialogue with it.” Heritage met futurism. The materials felt alive and transformable. One piece could look classic from one angle and totally new from another. Leonid explores the line between memory and progress. He represents a generation that treasures its roots but refuses to be a replica. That is a fine line to walk. Too much past, and you become a museum. Too much future, and you lose your grounding. Leonid walked it well. His collection was a manifesto of a generation finding its own voice.
Photos by @epov_
ZhSaken (Kazakhstan)
Saken Zhaxybayev closed the last day of the fashion week. And what a closing it was. His “Art Is Not Enough” collection views fashion as a space between the intuitive and the conscious, drawing from the atmosphere of global art biennials. The collection works on contrasts. Architectural forms meet deep blue and expressive red. Transparent layers sit next to dense textures. Each look feels like an independent gesture, a living process rather than a finished product.
Photos by @epov_
I am definitely going to keep an eye on the designers I saw, and you should do that as well. If this season was any indication, the return trip to Almaty will be worth every mile.
