Kyrgyz designers show their new collections of Muslim fashion

Friday, 29 March 2013 02:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: A fashion show in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan featured a collection of colourful dresses for a unique spring 2013 collection targeted to Muslim women, who want beautiful clothes that still protect their modesty.

“I think that a woman, whether she is Muslim or Christian, has to follow fashion and her appearance should be decent, and she has to look beautiful, womanly,” said ‘Fashion Muslim Kyrgyzstan’ attendee Ruhina Kozhambekova.

Like Kozhambekova, hundreds of Kyrgyz women attended the fashion show, clapping to the pulsing beat of the music while the models flowed along the runway in long-sleeved, high-necked gowns paired with veils framing their faces.

Delicate chiffons to cotton blends to intricately-designed silks were featured in the show, which presented fashions for a range of tastes – from dressy to sporty.

Fashion designer Mavluda Usupova even showed a line of wedding dresses. “Not only fashionable women but all Muslims too could look beautiful, even in Islam. Once in her lifetime a girl gets married. Therefore you have to look beautiful to please your husband and his family,” Usupova said.

Her creations featured full skirts, bordered by lace edging and pearl details, as well as empire-waisted and full A-line forms. Some of the dresses were paired with jackets, and all of the models wore intricately decorated veils.

Organiser Aijan Akilbekova said the show was a huge success and showed that fashion could be compatible with life in Kyrgyzstan and modesty.

“Actually, it’s simply a trend for our sisters about how you can dress up according to our customs, traditions and without forgetting about the geographical conditions of our country. For example, we have a severe winter, we have a slushy autumn, we have spring, we have summer. In our country we can’t be like Arabs who wear one dress all year long,” Akilbekova said.

Kyrgyzstan, a poor Central Asian country of 5.5 million, is about 75% Muslim.