British Fashion boosts creativity in Kazakhstan
The exhibition of British fashion designers, “Reconstruction: Cultural Heritage and the Making of Contemporary Fashion”, started its journey around Europe and Asia, from Kazakhstan’s cultural capital, Almaty, in April 2011. Leaving a lasting impression on Kazakhstan’s fashion savvy public, the next stop for the exhibition is Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent. During the 4 weeks that the exhibition was up in the atrium of the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, situated in the heart of the city, over 15,000 visitors had an opportunity to see first ever fashion exhibition of contemporary British designers and engage in wraparound activities.
Creative workshops, organised by the British Council, in collaboration with local and British fashion industry partners, played an important role in building strong links with professionals in the field.
Meeting British designer, Gerard Wilson, Peter Jensen’s creative and business partner, and learning about his account of the history of the Peter Jensen brand, the creation of collections and setting up in business in London, was enlightening to local designers.
A superb presentation on current and future macro trends and creative workshop delivered by Cher Potter, Fashion Trends Researcher from WGSN London (Worth Global Style Network), global leader in trend-analysis for fashion professionals, attracted a wide range of professionals, from established designers to fashion design teachers from arts colleges. It was a very successful event (a capacity room full of the ‘right people’) that built a solid base of new contacts for British Council.
Lucie Muir, a well-established fashion journalist, contributing cutting-edge reports on fashion to the most authoritative fashion titles, such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Fashion Confidential, the Financial Times etc., engaged journalists, editors and arts promoters across the Media business, from national tabloids and glossy lifestyle magazines to online experimental arts portals.
In total 170 leaders and influencers participated in professional talks and workshops.
“I learnt about WGSN, when I studied in Italy and understanding their important role for fashion professionals I started following their activity since then,” shares her excitement Aigerim Akenova, a young fashion designer, who is setting up her own label in Kazakhstan, “I could never imagine that I would be attending a WGSN workshop in Almaty! I am very grateful to the British Council for bringing the best of world fashion expertise to us!”
Alexey Chzhen, artistic director at Kazakhstan Fashion Week, our main local partner, notes: “The achievement of British Council in supporting the development of fashion industry in Kazakhstan is hard to underestimate. The exhibition and workshops are truly unique. You are the first ever international organisation showcasing fashion at this level, and delivering such expertise and impact.”
General Producer of Kazakhstan Fashion Week, Sayat Dosybayev adds: “we are sure that these workshops will become a strong inspirational push for local designers. We hope you lead by example for other cultural organisations in the country.”
The exhibition demonstrated an appetite and need for similar projects in Kazakhstan. Partnership contribution for delivering exhibition was a record breaking GBP 30,000.
Director of British Council in Kazakshtan, Lena Milosevic, sums up the project: “It was an exciting and challenging endeavour for the local team to take on in a country, where the wealth of natural resources, and the leading role of oil and gas industry in the economy, leaves the creative industries off the priority radar of Government and potential business partners. The team’s perseverance, hard work and professionalism ensured the significant impact of the project, evidenced in exceeded targets and strong new relationships with all major stakeholders in the industry. Britain’s leading position in the creative industries gives us a strong foundation to build on the success of the NWNA in Kazakhstan and strengthen creative collaboration in fashion, kick-started by the Reconstruction”.
For more information on ‘Reconstruction’ in Kazakhstan, please contact Maya Zedelashvili: e-mail: maya.zedelashvili@kz.britishcouncil.org
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