Meerim Naizabekova is a fashion designer based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, whose new collection Balance will feature at the Visa Fashion Week Almaty – a major fashion event hosted each year in Kazakhstan – this spring.
Balance takes us right into Naizabekova’s world: one where nature is the protagonist and guides individuals through the complexities of life. This is a journey full of uncertainty, fragility and emotion: themes that are central to Naizabekova’s latest work.
Naizabekova describes her brand as having a “thoughtful approach to clothing.” When asked about what she means, she explains that such an approach is fundamentally tied to her past as a fashion illustrator:
“Illustration allows for a more immediate and free expression of emotion, while design requires translating those ideas into a physical, structured form. They support each other in my work.”
Naizabekova sees illustration and design and construction as “two connected languages that support each other.” Both fundamental to a thoughtful and emotionally-driven approach to garment making.
Emotion is at the core of Naizabekova’s project: so fundamentally central that it takes precedence over functionality. When questioned about the balance between expression and functionality in her garments, Naizabekova’s response was simple: “Expression comes first. Functionality integrates naturally after. It’s about coexistence, not compromise.”
Nature is another vital source of inspiration for the designer. In her words, nature is “a form of art that already exists in its purest state.” Naizabekova explains that:
“This relationship [between her and nature] influences the way I create. I am drawn to natural forms, textures, and imperfections not to copy them directly, but to translate their feeling into garments. In my work, I try to recreate that sense of rawness, stillness, and quiet strength that I experience when I connect with nature.”
It is clear that these two elements, emotion and the natural world, are pillars of Naizabekova’s latest collection.
Balance is the result of a period of intense physical and emotional hardship. As Naizabekova recounts what inspired her latest work, her words are raw and charged with emotion. Particularly, with a desire for redemption and reappropriating oneself:
“At some point, I made a conscious decision not to stay in that state, but to redirect that energy into creation. I started working, drawing, and building this collection. I realised that opposite states can coexist: vulnerability and strength, heaviness and movement. They can support the process of creation. For me, balance is not the absence of difficulty, but the ability to transform it into something meaningful.”
Balance is therefore a state of emotional contentment that, in return, allows us to feel at peace with our surroundings. As Naizabekova explains, Balance is all about “finding a middle ground, a state where you can keep moving forward without losing yourself. [It’s] the ability to act, to create, to stay engaged with the world, but at the same time to maintain an inner calm.”
This contrast, between hardship and peace, is ever present amongst the looks of the collection, and it is specifically embodied by Naizabekova’s choice of materials: silk and felt. In the designer’s own words, “together they create a dialogue between weight and lightness.”
The choice of materials, however, serves another important purpose. Balance is a sculptural project, where forms are the protagonist. With felt, Naizabekova explains she could “shape emotions into form.”
Silk, instead, “is the opposite. Light, fluid, like the air of a soft breeze.” Perhaps, it represents chaos and uncertainty, and how this can coexist with our innermost emotions. Or perhaps it signifies a breath of fresh air that comforts us when emotional intensity feels heavy and burdensome.
The collection’s colour palette instead brings us back to the natural world as a source of inspiration: grey, white, brown, and moss green.
In terms of styling, an element that instantly sparks curiosity is the choice to have the models’ face at least partially covered in every look: sometimes with a veil, a blindfold, or a turtleneck that reaches all the way over the nose and stops right under the eyes.
Naizabekova explains that this choice ensures attention is devoted entirely to the garment, which is the vehicle through which emotions are conveyed and represented. This styling choice thus invites the audience to fully focus on the emotional heart of the collection.
Balance is a deeply personal, experimental, and innovative collection. Materials, colours, and shapes force us to take a moment to reflect simultaneously on our innermost state and on our relationship with our surroundings.
In Naizabekova’s words, Balance invites the viewer “to pause and reflect […] Balance is not about escaping intensity but learning how to exist within it. If the viewer can feel this, even for a moment, the collection has fulfilled its purpose.”
Such an intimate yet experimental approach is one that we can expect to see again in the designer’s future work. Naizabekova explains that she would “like to continue developing [her] work in a more experimental and meaningful direction.” She also reflects on how this collection has opened new doors for the future of her creative expression, particularly in the use of materials:
“This collection has definitely opened a new path for me. Working with felt and combining it with other materials has given me many ideas that I would like to develop further.”
Naizabekova’s work is personal, experimental, and ambitious. It is also deeply touching and, perhaps, more relatable than one might think. At a point in time where it often feels impossible to escape a sense of overstimulation and chaos, sometimes all we need is a little balance. Within ourselves, and with our surroundings. And if you can find it, you’ll discover that life becomes a lot easier to navigate.