Turkish Designers Take Center Stage at Fashion Show in Astana – The Astana Times

ASTANA—Astana hosted a fashion show on Oct. 22 featuring the creations of nine talented Turkish designers. The event showcased Turkish designs and served as a bridge for new business partnerships between Kazakhstan and Türkiye.

The event, which was organized with the support of the Embassy of Türkiye in Kazakhstan and the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB), aimed to strengthen cultural and economic ties through fashion.

The designers’ innovative takes on traditional and modern styles were a blend of elegance and craftspersonship. From flowing, embroidered gowns to sharp, tailored pieces, each collection told a unique story.

Ambassador Kapucu welcomes the guests at his residence in Astana. Photo credit: Instagram account of the Embassy of Türkiye in Kazakhstan

The event underscored fashion’s role as a cultural connector. Ambassador of Türkiye to Kazakhstan Mustafa Kapucu describes designers as a “new cultural bridge” between the two nations.

“This is also a commercial and a cultural event. We wanted to make a mix. (…) Turkish textiles are very well known in Kazakhstan, and I think this event is going to promote more Turkish textiles in Kazakhsta’s market. The Turkish textile in Kazakhstan is known as the quality product that many people have a great interest in,” said Kapucu.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish designers participated in B2B meetings with Kazakh fashion industry stakeholders. These meetings provided a platform for discussing potential collaborations.

Ambassador Kapucu stressed the ultimate goal is not about the contracts signed, but rather about solid connections build. Photo credit: Instagram account of the Embassy of Türkiye in Kazakhstan

Mithat Samsana, a board member at the IHKIB, said this is the first event of such scale where the association participates. Founded in 1978, IHKIB is one of the largest sectoral trade associations in Türkiye, representing the Turkish ready-to-wear and apparel industry. It covers nearly 70% of the total sector exports by its members.

“This event will lay a foundation for future collaborations. Therefore, we are very pleased to be here,” said Samsana.

Turkish and Kazakh fashion and textile industry representative had a productive day of B2B meetings. Photo credit: IHKIB

Kazakhstan, with its rapidly growing fashion scene, is becoming an attractive market for foreign designers.

“Turkish designers have a big interest in the Kazakh market because our market has big opportunities. Maybe for Turkish designers, we are not a big country because our population is around 20 million people. But despite this fact, our customers have very good taste and experience,” Saken Zhaxybayev, a well-known Kazakh fashion designer who organized the event in Kazakhstan, told The Astana Times.

“I hope that after two days, Turkish designers come back to Türkiye and will understand that our customers are very fresh, very trendy, and very vogue,” he added.

For many of the Turkish designers, this was their first time in Kazakhstan. Yasemin Sarpkaya, a designer of the Mimya brand, shared her excitement about the event.

The designs blended elegance, cultural motives and sharp contours. Photo credit: Instagram account of the Embassy of Türkiye in Kazakhstan

“I find it successful from an industry perspective. As a brand, we were born in Istanbul, Türkiye, but we target the women of the world. (…) We would be very happy to see Kazakh women wearing our designs,” she said in a comment for this story.

“As Turkish and Kazakhs, we come from one region and share Turkic roots and the same heritage. We are using motives from this heritage [in the designs],” she added.

The fashion show and the meetings signal a growing interest in fostering closer ties between the Turkish and Kazakh fashion industries. This collaboration holds promise, considering that as of 2020, Türkiye was the fifth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world and the third-largest in Europe. Textiles accounted for 3.9% of Türkiye’s total exports.