BISHKEK/JULY 15 2021 (The Bulletin) — Ignoring rising coronavirus infections, which some commentators have said could overwhelm the country’s health system, Kyrgyzstan hosted the inaugural World Nomads Fashion Festival.

The event, held in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon Ata on the shores of the mountain-ringed Lake Issyk-Kul, was designed to increase the profile of regional fashion designers, explained organiser Nazira Begim.

“It is important that the ‘Made in Kyrgyzstan’ brand attracts the attention of leading fashion houses and helps it to develop cooperation with them,” she said 

“I am sure that in the search for new solutions, famous designers will be interested in elements of national clothing styles.”  

For Kyrgyzstan, nomads, their traditions, values and culture, have become an important part of its international branding. Cholpon Ata also hosted the first three editions of the International Nomad Games, in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Organisers of the World Nomad Fashion Festival said that designers from over 20 countries used the festival to showcase their work, which focused on flowing robes, baggy trousers and loose-fitting jackets. Facemasks were, notably, absent.

ENDS

— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021