Dildora Kasimova collection
On 20 September, two collections by Dildora Kasimova were shown outside the Navoi Theatre, one of Tashkent’s most beautiful landmarks. It was a show filled with meaning, history and beauty.
Text by Irina Perova
Photos by Mukhiddin A. Lee and Vitaliy Mun
The show was a collaboration between designer Dildora Kasimova and local denim brand BJeans. The limited-edition collection was a fusion of traditional suzani art and contemporary fashion. The range features structured jackets, elongated shirts with updated pahta gul (cotton flower) embroidery, plaid and cargo jeans, dresses, suits, skirts with national patterns, bags, basques and bandanas, as well as jackets and chapans (Uzbek coats).
Each item was complemented by hand embroidery – a treasured form of Uzbek folk art. The ancient symbols of suzani ornaments, the boundless imagination of the masters and the warmth of their hands which carefully create masterpieces are all a reverent passing-down of traditions from generation to generation.
Dildora Kasymova's sophisticated taste was also evident in the details: cotton earrings, pigtails and the models' straight-parted hair referred to the peculiarities of Uzbek culture.
Contemporary collections increasingly feature designers using suzani and Uzbek fabrics to complement denim.
For example, Ralph Lauren's spring-summer 2022 collection paired denim with another Uzbek national fabric, ikat. Dildora has shown that being a designer in Uzbekistan is a vocation. It pays dividends to combine our centuries-old history and national traditions with global trends, always keeping the designer’s personal preferences in mind.
After the Dildora Kasimova x BJeans collab show, there was a performance by Sevara Nazarkhan, Honoured Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Large screens next to the catwalk gave a closer look at the haute couture looks. In tandem with Nazarkhan's gentle voice, the first-line looks were heart-stopping.
Dildora wore an uncluttered black dress accessorised with a small veil. The show was attended by the designer’s friends and colleagues from the capital, as well as guests from Kazakhstan: Bauyrzhan Shadibekov, CEO of Visa Fashion Week Almaty; Saken Zhaksybayev, designer, founder and CEO of the Fashion Bureau; and Lilia Rakh, well-known Kazakh buyer and owner of the Sauvage boutique.
