ZHANAR: ABOUT
Zhanar Yerkingaliyeva is the Founder/Owner and Lead Designer for ZHANAR brand.
Zhanar was born in West Kazakhstan, studied Fashion Design in Moscow, and currently resides in Nur-Sultan. Over the years, Zhanar has received a number of international awards for her creations, including finals’ placement for wool-work (Milan, Italy); the “Grand Prix Award” from the Sugino Fashion Academy (Tokyo, Japan), and; “Best Debut,” “1st Place,” and “Golden Designer” awards for her Asyk Collection, illustrative work, and feature fashion show at Volvo Fashion Week, respectively (Moscow, Russia).
Here is Zhanar writing about ZHANAR:
Perhaps it’s evident, but a Kazakh sensibility and a female perspective are central themes in my work. I remember as a young girl being astounded by the feats of the Soviet space program, including the exploits from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in current-day Kazakhstan. Even as the Soviet Union dissolved & my homeland experienced violent upheavals, I clung to the most optimistic, dream-like and compassionate elements of our national identity. As I matured and grew into my craft, I resolved to transmit positivity and generosity in my sketches and in my earliest efforts at clothes-making. I do this through the application of gentle, but sure designs; use of natural colors and fabrics, and; incorporation of ancient and contemporary ideas.
I love to capture and release beauty. Perhaps the most exciting part for me is not knowing how I’ll be affected in a moment of recognition, or even understanding necessarily where the creative process will lead. For example, many of my coats, blouses, dresses, etc. are distinguished by soft, curved lines that cut across the chest. Well, that creative statement evolved from a rather mundane technical challenge: what to do with the fabric that one typically tucks more conventionally with two straight seams into the sides of the torso-design? So I began to experiment with methods that distributed the material more intelligently, more imaginatively, and even more generously across the works-in-progress. Today, the seams, or lines that one sees in many of our productions are not merely functional conclusions to our handcraft, but attempts to protect & promote the idea that a true heart has extra value in a restless world. In this respect, the things we wear become important, beautiful, and active matter in communicating who we are.
VISION:
Our guiding belief is that we are all beautiful, and that we are at our most beautiful when the quality
residing within us is rendered material & interacting with our wondrous world.
MISSION:
Through our creations, we promote the aspirational,
but practical ideas that make our natural world and better selves a perfect fit.
