Alexey Chzhen, Founder of Kazakhstan Fashion Week, Delivers Strong Collection for Eponymous Brand 

Alexey Chzhen and Kazakhstan Fashion Week: the two names are inextricably linked. A founder and CEO of Kazakhstan Fashion Week, which at 35 seasons is now the longest-running fashion week in Central Asia, Chzhen also has an eponymous brand that is a perennial highlight on the event’s calendar. He is a father figure of modern Kazakh fashion, but he is also a trendsetter, perfectly attuned to the balance of classic elegance and contemporary silhouettes that lies at the heart of the country’s sartorial identity.

Chzhen’s offering at this past Kazakhstan Fashion Week beautifully demonstrated the masterful cuts and attention to detail for which the designer is known. Working from a neutral color palette dominated by black, cream, and olive green, Alexey Chzhen proposed an array of dresses and jackets with traditional clean cuts but unique modern accoutrements. A black and white pinstripe dress exuding “boardroom power” was given feminine flair and dramatic effect by a large floral ruffle at the neckline and an open jacket that billowed behind the model like a cape. Meanwhile, a quasi-transparent cream shirt combined with a black tie was transformed from timeless urban chic to contemporary sartorial statement by a layered skirt that sashayed down the runway in a swirl of oversized pleats.

Chzhen was at his best this season when irreverently playing with jackets. A personal favorite look was a dichotomous black blazer embellished on one side by ruffled rosettes and painstakingly sewn floral patterns and on the other by haphazardly-stitched-on strips of raw fabric. At once emblematic of Soho streetstyle and classic femininity, it was a modern look for those confident in their style and comfortable moving between different cultural spheres. Also noteworthy was a distressed white jacket structured so as to recall unfinished patterns. Finally, the collection cannot be discussed without a nod to the striking headwear, which hugged the models like skull caps (often covering their hair), and was proposed in a variety of bejeweled and non-embellished versions. 

With one of the most cohesive and consistent collections of Kazakhstan Fashion Week, Alexey Chzhen proved once again why he is so well-established on the pantheon of Central Asian designers. Having already appeared at the Grammys, look for his designs to receive increased international exposure in coming seasons.