Runway
The Inner Strength and The Fragility of Femininity
Saken Zhaxybayev and Akmaral Zharaskyzy, brought a new collection inspired by Japanese motifs, crafting a symbolic space that blends elegance with mysticism.
Updated 10:51 pm EDT, June 8, 2025
Published 03:27 pm EDT, June 5, 2025
Photography: Timur Epov
Special Thanks: Francesca Venturi (Elevate PR)
Art & Symbolism
The closing show for Visa Fashion Week Almaty Pre-Fall 2025 featured ZhSaken x Akmaral. The duo, composed of Saken Zhaxybayev and Akmaral Zharaskyzy, brought a new collection inspired by Japanese paintings, alongside woodblock prints, combined with traditional kimonos and East Asian natural vistas. All elements, including embroidery and original prints, craft a symbolic space that blends elegance with mysticism.
The closing event for Visa Fashion Week Almaty Pre-Fall 2025 featured ZhSaken x Akmaral
The collection showcased inner strength alongside delicate femininity, which reflects common traits found in Asian cultural expression. Designers focused on materials and methods, including hand embroidery and unique prints, to ensure each fashion piece stands out as an individual work. A dragon motif dominates the main kimono of the collection, symbolizing power and transformation.
“Inspired by East Asian culture, we created looks that are not only beautiful but also deeply meaningful, inviting everyone to a journey into the world of art and symbolism,” say the creators.
The Collection
About Visa Fashion Week Almaty
Between May 3 and May 5, 2025, Almaty welcomed the new season of Visa Fashion Week Almaty, which served as the international fashion week for Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The Ritz-Carlton Almaty served as the traditional location for the exhibition of 18 pre-fall 2025 collections from both local Kazakhstani designers and international creators.
The central theme for this season, selected by the organizers, was “Eternal Journey,” which mirrors the modern focus on exploration and movement, similar to fashion’s perpetual process of reinvention. The event invited emerging designers to join the ongoing journey by continually moving forward with each successive step.
The CEO and producer of Visa Fashion Week, Almaty Bauyrzhan Shadibekov, maintains that contemporary fashion holds transformative potential for social and economic systems. “For six years now, together with Visa, we have been creating the most fashionable event in the country — Visa Fashion Week Almaty. Each year, it grows in significance, not only for the fashion industry but also for Kazakhstan’s entire creative economy.”
The most fashionable event in Central Asia featured 14 designers from Kazakhstan and four from neighboring countries — Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Uzbekistan. As always, the regular participants of VFWA included top Kazakhstani designers such as Saken Zhaksybayev (Zhsaken), Liliya Mamieva (Kirpi), Aigul Kasymova, the popular brand Malli by Manshuk Kuanisheva, and last season’s breakout stars Kimmin and Mariko. Newcomers to this season included Kazakhstani brands Anima and Van Miller, and the creative duo ToSi & Mila_R will present a unique collaborative collection. The week also featured legendary Kazakh fashion labels such as Pentatonica and Mechanical Piano.
International participants included the Uzbek brand Azukar Moreno, the well-known Turkish brand The Selfmade, and Georgian designer Tiko Nebieridze with her brand Tiko — a Visa Fashion Week Tashkent regular. For the first time, VFWA welcomed a guest from Armenia — MANUKALEKSANYAN.
In the era of misinformation, Ava's single objective is to celebrate fashion, emerging talents, diversity, and inclusion. Also, she attempts to open an honest dialogue around the controversial and hypocritical matters that torment groups or nations, discussing facts rather than mere ideologies or idiocracies. Ava is also an avid ice cream connoisseur.
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