Sophia Kokosalaki's installation
On 28 April Reconstruction: Cultural Heritage and the Making of Contemporary Fashion opened at the Central State Museum in Almaty. This is the first fashion exhibition to be held in Kazakhstan and the first venue for our international touring exhibition.
The launch kicked off with a packed press conference attended by Kazakhstan’s leading TV Channels and newspaper titles followed by the official opening by the British Ambassador and the Director of Central State Museum. 600 people attended the opening to see the work of seven of the UK’s leading fashion designers: Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan, Marios Schwab, Peter Jensen, Sophia Kokosalaki and Osman Yousefzada.
The work on display offers a snapshot of some of the traditions and cultures that inspire these designers. Their collections demonstrate that although fashion is deeply entwined with personal identity, it can also hold within its fabric whole histories and cultures, which resonate in contemporay design. The vast Central State Museum in the heart of the city was an appropriate venue as it houses a number of exhibitions which detail the history of Kazakhstan including archaeological and geological artefacts and traditional dress. It is also fitting that the exhibition should open in Kazakhstan where the subject of cultural heritage has been discussed widely with the development of its new capital city Astana, which has embraced contemporary design as a means to shape its identity.
Designer Peter Jensen said: “I am delighted to be taking part in the first ever fashion exhibition to be held in Kazakhstan. Behind each of my collections, there are many stories. The work on display in Reconstruction is inspired by a trip I took to Greenland to research my Aunt Jytte who owned a café and cab company there and was fascinated by 1960s fashion. I hope my work will encourage young fashion designers in Kazakhstan and the other countries to which this exhibition will travel to look at their own heritage and environment and take inspiration from them.”
Alongside the exhibition we have organised a number of talks by guest speakers including Gerard Wilson, business and design partner at Peter Jensen, Maria Janssen and Cher Potter from WGSN and fashion journalist Lucie Muir.
The exhibition has been curated by Alison Moloney, British Council London, and designed by Pippa Nissen Studio. The graphic design was by studio Kellenberger-White, which developed a new typeface in response to the sharp, angular lines of the exhibition structure. The British Council is delighted to be collaborating with leading high-end mannequin manufacturer Bonaveri who has generously provided 16 Schläppi 2200 mannequins for the exhibition's tour.
The exhibition will also tour Russia, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh throughout 2011. It follows on from a previous programme of British Council workshops and creative exchanges ‘The New Silk Road’ in Central South Asia over the past three years.
