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| Part of the audience (top) at last week's fashion show in Bishkek (all pictures are from gde.kg and photo.kg) |
A fashion show in
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan,
a Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic
traditions, featured a collection of colorful 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,” Fashion Muslim Kyrgyzstan, BECHA 2013 attendee Ruhina Kozhambekova
told Reuters.
Like Kozhambekova,
hundreds of Kyrgyz women attended last week’s (March 25) 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. Once in her
lifetime a girl gets married. Therefore you have to look beautiful to please
your husband and his family,” Usupova told Reuters.
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.
Organizer 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, and we have summer. In our country we can't wear one
dress all year long,” Akilbekova told Reuters.
Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked and
mountainous country of 5.5 million that became independent with the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991,
is about 75 percent Muslim. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north,
Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south and China to the east.
The Kyrgyz make up nearly 70% of
the population, with Uzbeks accounting for about 15% and concentrated in the
Ferghana Valley in the south. Russians have a significant presence in the north
and in the capital, Bishkek.
A BBC country
profile says “Kyrgyzstan also features in the US-Russian rivalry for
control of Central Asia, as both powers have military air bases in the country,
and various Kyrgyz leaders have proved adept at playing the country's competing
allies off against each other.
“The U.S. established an airbase at the Manas international airport near
Bishkek in late 2001 to support military operations in Afghanistan. President Kurmanbek
Bakiyev threatened to close it in October 2008 after agreeing to a Russian
loan. He reversed the decision when the U.S. agreed to more than triple its
annual rent for the base.
“Weeks later Kyrgyzstan tentatively agreed to allow Russia to open a
second military base on its territory, apparently expanding Moscow's military
reach to balance the U.S. presence.
“After Russian President Vladimir
Putin agreed in September 2012 to write off Kyrgyzstan's debt to his country,
President Almazbek Atambayev agreed to a 15-year extension to Moscow's lease on
the Kant air base, but said that the lease on the US military base at Manas
would not be renewed when it expires in 2014.”
