Yakut diamonds, interregional izhyu breastplates, and inclusive theatre presented in Kazan
The city has hosted the fourth Lifestyle — Cultural Code fashion festival
The main event of the fourth festival “Lifestyle — Cultural Code” in Kazan was a fashion show featuring more than 30 designers from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Malaysia. This time, the gathering of ethnic fashion researchers was limited to the capital of Tatarstan; however, this did not curb the creativity of costume designers, who draw inspiration from their history. Read the details in Realnoe Vremya.
Fair, fashion show, networking
The ethno-fashion festival is being held for the fourth time. In 2023, it lasted nine days in Bolgar. This time, it was organised in Kazan. From 4 to 7 September, the “Cultural Code of the Regions” fair took place in the square in front of the old Kamal Theatre building. More than 60 artisans from 24 regions of Russia and other countries participated. The ethno-cultural diversity was widely represented in their works: Altai ceramics, Crimean bags, Yelets lace, Chuvash embroidery, Vyatka matryoshkas, and much more.
“Folk arts and crafts are the living history of our country, and the work of masters and artisans is the present and future of our country and of Tatarstan,” said Damir Natfullin, the deputy minister of culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, at the opening of the fair.
On the evening of 6 September, a fashion show was held in the Universal Hall of the Kamal Theatre, followed by a Q&A session in the Chamber Hall. In addition, the festival organised a business programme with visiting designers on the theme: “Ethnic. Fashion. Cultural Code.”
The new Kamal Theatre is accustomed to this format. One of the first events earlier this year, in April, was the Fashion Show Kazan, when bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative figures walked the foyer runway. For the Cultural Code event, the show took place in the black box theatre — audience members were seated in the usual places as well as around the runway, which featured a large screen. Media artist Nadya Kimelyar was responsible for the screen, lighting, and lasers. Organisers described this year’s concept with the word “Light”: “It is a mystical journey from primordial chaos to eternal truth.”
Kamal Theatre — a fashion theatre?
“When the theatre building was conceived, we fully understood that one of the missions of this space is a kind of compilation of all forms of art, all kinds of creativity, so that we can convey meanings very clearly and distinctly,” said the Republic’s Minister of Culture, Irada Ayupova, at the start of the show. “Our cultural code is not only our clothing, not only our jewellery. It is how we make decisions, what we like.”
Ayupova explained the meaning of the Tatar word “зәвык,” translating it not simply as “taste” but revealing a broader concept: “a sense of comfort, that which gives us — next word ‘рәхәт’—that which brings us maximum satisfaction, maximum comfort.”
“I wish for all of us that the search for ourselves, the turn to our roots, to our hearts, brings harmony into our lives. We live in an incredibly hectic world, a world where it is very difficult to find oneself, very difficult to find one’s comfort zone. I sincerely wish for all of us to open our hearts to the past in order to build this comfort in the future, together with our children, grandchildren, and loved ones,” the head of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan concluded.
Fairy tales, jewellery, northwest Bashkortostan
The show opened with the collection “Goat with Horns” by Olga Bukina’s fashion theatre from Penza, with the horned characters carrying the young models off the stage.
The collection “Maiden Dawn” from Nailia Suleymanova’s studio delighted the audience — it featured outfits designed by 10-year-old designers. The models of Elena Djafarova’s inclusive theatre “Sunny World” received much applause. Traditionally, Chuvash patterns from Paha Tere amazed spectators, demonstrating that folk arts and crafts can thrive in a factory format for decades.
Overall, the success of each collection could be measured by the number of phones raised to film it. In this regard, the record-holders were the creations of the jewellery house “Kierge” from the Republic of Sakha. Sargylana Ymyy personally displayed uncut 18-carat diamonds, leaving journalists almost fainting. A similar success was achieved by “Ertineler” (“Jewellery”), created by Aydash Sat from Kyzyl. Participants from Tatarstan presented works from Buro Banu, the Union of Designers of the Republic of Tatarstan, Naiman, the studios “Küz Nury,” Sagdana Salakhutdinova, and Nailia Burganova.
At the same time, the collection Zaman by Alfiya and Gulfia Khammatov (brand MINZIFA) raised questions. Their work featured izhu breastplates and kalfaks, presented as “costumes of the north-western Bashkirs.” However, where, for example, the Bashkir seltër breastplates went in this context remains unclear. Thus, the story involving the ethnographic group of Bashkirs, speaking a language suspiciously similar to ordinary Kazan Tatar, continues.