A bright performance presented by the Fashion Theatre of Slava Zaitsev at the International Exhibition of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan was the culmination of the festive fashion show, held at the Sergi Kosgi Exhibition Centre in Ashgabat. The world-famous fashion designer brought his autumn-winter 2015-2016 collection and the collection of silk evening dresses to Ashgabat.
The well-known Russian designers from St. Petersburg Tatyana Parfyonova and Alain Ahmadullina, the stylists Kuralai Nurkadilova from Kazakhstan and Muammer Ketenci from Turkey took part in the festive fashion show.
The colourful collections of Turkmen costumes and dresses were presented by the Ashgabat Fashion House, the salons Gulzaman and Peikam, among others. Their distinctive feature included ethnic motifs in the creative and extraordinary interpretation of Turkmen fashion designers. They created the images which illustrated the continuity of the traditions of national decorative and applied arts, the aesthetic views of the Turkmen nation and the facets of its cultural heritage. It is the originality that has become the prevailing vector for creative search of contemporary Turkmen fashion designers. This was the main theme of an interview with one of the leading fashion experts and trendsetters Vyacheslav Zaitsev.
A. Y.: Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, do you think it is very important to appeal to traditional national costume in contemporary fashion design?
V. Z.: An artist needs to know the national traditions of his people, because they are the bedrock of everything, they help to create an image which can be recognized in time, in historical coordinates. Nowadays, fashion is international, and sometimes it erases the boundaries of ethnicity. Because of the hastening rhythm of life national costumes is slipping away imperceptibly from everyday life, and it will be great to see them in the folk ceremonies which have survived to our times. Therefore, a fashion designer has to think of preserving this valuable layer in national culture.
Certainly, there is no use reproducing ancient costumes entirely, because they cannot be designed better than they are – there are museums for this purpose where we can see what our ancestors wore. However, when used ideally and organically, the elements of traditional costume will highlight the originality of a designer and his links with the culture of his people, but I consider it archaic to fully transfer a retro model in modernity. New technologies, new textures and images appear every day, and they let an artist exist in the present day, be modern, and at the same time they effectively enhance national features in clothing.
I can see that in Turkmenistan national traditions continue to live in clothing, not only in festive attire, but also in casual, fashionable and comfortable apparel. On the streets of your city I saw women in national dresses which ethnic decorations and ornaments are delicately added to, and they look very harmonious.
I am fascinated by the organic introduction of Turkmen ornaments not only into modern clothing, but also into architectural decor of buildings, it is so original and interesting that it is difficult to find words for this beauty. I was greatly impressed by the purity of style in ornamental decorations.
A. Y.: What do you think about the ‘fashionable’ prospects of the national fabric keteni? This is also one of the ancient traditions of national costume which has lost nothing of its relevance in our times…
V. Z.: I used Turkmen silk fabric keteni of wondrous beauty and various colours in one of my fashion collections. Russian shirts were made from it… Here is an example of fashion bringing people together through! I think of using this fabric in my future collections; it is very decorative and interesting to work with. New solutions, rich extraordinary colours that help to create a unique image have always attracted me. Therefore, I will not miss this opportunity, especially with keteni.
A. Y.: Do you think that the collections of Turkmen fashion designers deserve presenting at Fashion Weeks?
V. Z.: Certainly, Turkmen fashion designers should participate in the fashion weeks; I do not understand why this has not happened yet. The works created by the Ashgabat Fashion House in national style deserve the applause from the European audience. They are exceptionally colourful and original, which is in high demand and arouses interest nowadays. I would be happy to see Turkmen fashion collections on prestigious catwalks in the renowned fashion capitals, and I will do my best for that.
A. Y.: If you were designing a Turkmen fashion collection, what colour would you choose for it?
V. Z.: If I were designing a collection for Turkmenistan, white would dominate. This colour has become the embodiment of your capital city, and it would be accompanied by all the pure bright colours: cool red, green, yellow, cyclamen, violet, in a word, I think that the whole palette of colours would go very well with this collection. I would design national men’s shirts, but I would present them in a new way. I think that it would be an incredible line of apparel.
A. Y.: Everyone makes his own way to catwalks. What will you advise novice designers to do to intrigue with their collection and make everyone talk about it?
V. Z.: To make himself widely known a young artist should turn to the history of his country, the traditions of his people and thus national costume, he should not copy it, as I have mentioned above, but use it as the basis for his collection. A colour solution should be up to date; it is important to use certain elements of national decor. Only in this way that a designer will be able attract the attention of the audiences in different countries who are not easy to surprise with rich decorations or unprecedented cut. It is the original costume that awakes interest, because it transforms the history of the nation which is relevant at all times.
The well-known Russian designers from St. Petersburg Tatyana Parfyonova and Alain Ahmadullina, the stylists Kuralai Nurkadilova from Kazakhstan and Muammer Ketenci from Turkey took part in the festive fashion show.
The colourful collections of Turkmen costumes and dresses were presented by the Ashgabat Fashion House, the salons Gulzaman and Peikam, among others. Their distinctive feature included ethnic motifs in the creative and extraordinary interpretation of Turkmen fashion designers. They created the images which illustrated the continuity of the traditions of national decorative and applied arts, the aesthetic views of the Turkmen nation and the facets of its cultural heritage. It is the originality that has become the prevailing vector for creative search of contemporary Turkmen fashion designers. This was the main theme of an interview with one of the leading fashion experts and trendsetters Vyacheslav Zaitsev.
A. Y.: Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, do you think it is very important to appeal to traditional national costume in contemporary fashion design?
V. Z.: An artist needs to know the national traditions of his people, because they are the bedrock of everything, they help to create an image which can be recognized in time, in historical coordinates. Nowadays, fashion is international, and sometimes it erases the boundaries of ethnicity. Because of the hastening rhythm of life national costumes is slipping away imperceptibly from everyday life, and it will be great to see them in the folk ceremonies which have survived to our times. Therefore, a fashion designer has to think of preserving this valuable layer in national culture.
Certainly, there is no use reproducing ancient costumes entirely, because they cannot be designed better than they are – there are museums for this purpose where we can see what our ancestors wore. However, when used ideally and organically, the elements of traditional costume will highlight the originality of a designer and his links with the culture of his people, but I consider it archaic to fully transfer a retro model in modernity. New technologies, new textures and images appear every day, and they let an artist exist in the present day, be modern, and at the same time they effectively enhance national features in clothing.
I can see that in Turkmenistan national traditions continue to live in clothing, not only in festive attire, but also in casual, fashionable and comfortable apparel. On the streets of your city I saw women in national dresses which ethnic decorations and ornaments are delicately added to, and they look very harmonious.
I am fascinated by the organic introduction of Turkmen ornaments not only into modern clothing, but also into architectural decor of buildings, it is so original and interesting that it is difficult to find words for this beauty. I was greatly impressed by the purity of style in ornamental decorations.
A. Y.: What do you think about the ‘fashionable’ prospects of the national fabric keteni? This is also one of the ancient traditions of national costume which has lost nothing of its relevance in our times…
V. Z.: I used Turkmen silk fabric keteni of wondrous beauty and various colours in one of my fashion collections. Russian shirts were made from it… Here is an example of fashion bringing people together through! I think of using this fabric in my future collections; it is very decorative and interesting to work with. New solutions, rich extraordinary colours that help to create a unique image have always attracted me. Therefore, I will not miss this opportunity, especially with keteni.
A. Y.: Do you think that the collections of Turkmen fashion designers deserve presenting at Fashion Weeks?
V. Z.: Certainly, Turkmen fashion designers should participate in the fashion weeks; I do not understand why this has not happened yet. The works created by the Ashgabat Fashion House in national style deserve the applause from the European audience. They are exceptionally colourful and original, which is in high demand and arouses interest nowadays. I would be happy to see Turkmen fashion collections on prestigious catwalks in the renowned fashion capitals, and I will do my best for that.
A. Y.: If you were designing a Turkmen fashion collection, what colour would you choose for it?
V. Z.: If I were designing a collection for Turkmenistan, white would dominate. This colour has become the embodiment of your capital city, and it would be accompanied by all the pure bright colours: cool red, green, yellow, cyclamen, violet, in a word, I think that the whole palette of colours would go very well with this collection. I would design national men’s shirts, but I would present them in a new way. I think that it would be an incredible line of apparel.
A. Y.: Everyone makes his own way to catwalks. What will you advise novice designers to do to intrigue with their collection and make everyone talk about it?
V. Z.: To make himself widely known a young artist should turn to the history of his country, the traditions of his people and thus national costume, he should not copy it, as I have mentioned above, but use it as the basis for his collection. A colour solution should be up to date; it is important to use certain elements of national decor. Only in this way that a designer will be able attract the attention of the audiences in different countries who are not easy to surprise with rich decorations or unprecedented cut. It is the original costume that awakes interest, because it transforms the history of the nation which is relevant at all times.
