Russia - Tatarstan

The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia. The population here is around 4 million and Muslim population is as high as 55%. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. Islam has a long history here - it started 1400 years ago in the ancient state of Volga Bulgaria, today's Tatarstan. Volga Bulgaria has flourished after accepting the religion and made significant contributions into medicine and jurisprudence in the region. Islam was in trouble in 16th and 20th centuries when in the first instance the Russian Empire tried to convert Tatars to Christianity and then the Soviet rule attempted to remove religion from people's lives all together. In early 1990s the religious and cultural revival had begun with mosques being re-built, Islamic schools and centers opened. 

As more people started to practice the religion, the demand for appropriate clothing started to grow too. Up until 2009 most of the clothing was imported from the Middle East with a small number of it produced locally. Today, Kazan holds Islamic Fashion weeks, organises international festivals of Islamic Clothing, establishes an Islamic Fashion House and sends its designers to Moscow to participate in fashion events.

Tatarstan on the map of Russia

Traditional dress
Tatars come from many different subgroups that populate the areas from Lithuania all the way to China. Therefore, their national dresses will vary from subgroup to subgroup, and from area to area. Below are some examples of Tatar national dresses.

Courtesy to Studio LuiZa, Kazan (traditional wedding dress)

Courtesy to Studio LuiZa, Kazan

For those wanting to know more I would recommend this great resource on Tatar traditional dress: Folk Costume & Embroidery: Traditional Costume of Tatarstan


"Islamic Clothes" international festival
Since 2006 Tatarstan has been hosting the festival and competition called "Islamic Clothes". Over the years it transformed from a local event to an international one. Designers, stylists, artists, manufacturers and representatives of trade organisations from Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates take part in this event. One of the organisers says that the aim of the festival is not only to showcase the Islamic fashion talent, but also to assist development of the industry in the region. An excellent image gallery from the recent festival can be viewed here: http://en.ria.ru/photolents/20130630/181928951/Islamic-Clothes-Fashion-Show-in-Kazan-.html, with a few pictures available below:

Courtesy to Said Shagipov

Courtesy to Said Shagipov

Courtesy to Said Shagipov

Friendship Week women of Iran and Tatarstan
In September 2013, the House of People's Friendship in Kazan hosted an event to promote the friendship between women of Iran and Tatarstan. Islamic fashion show was part of the even where designers from Iran and Tatarstan demonstrated recent collections. Some of the designers who presented their creations were Ms Albina Halikova, Ms Zilya Ahmetova and others (images courtesy to Art.16):

Introducing Ms Fakiya Sabirzanova
Ms Sabirzanova is a famous designer in Tatarstan who works at the Russian Islamic University in Kazan and gives master classes to young designers. She holds a PhD in Law from the Kazan State University and completed a diploma course at Italian/Russian design school "Style".
In 2009 she started adhering to the daily prayer and wanted to dress accordingly. Fakiya did not like anything in the local shops and therefore created her own dress made of silk for summer. It protected her well from the heat, felt comfortable and pleasant to the skin. This was the beginning of her own collection called "Silk Flower" where most of her dresses are made of silk, have bright colours and Tatar style embroidery. The collection is for evening and formal wear, but the designer aims to create clothes for every day wear too. 

Courtesy to Russian Islamic University in Kazan

Bella Kareema by Ms Dilyara Sadrieva
"Bella Kareema" is about bringing style to faith. Her philosophy is to give every woman a sense of security while creating an elegant image that helps to easily integrate into the modern society without causing undue negative attention. It took Ms Sadrieva 15 years to get where she is now. Initially she was making dresses for herself and then for her family and friends, later her husband encouraged Dilyara to start her own brand and today she owns an online boutique. Although Ms Sadrieva specialises in elegant wear she plans to create a casual clothing line as well as a limited collection of original cut sophisticated dresses made of expensive fabrics.

The one to watch - Ms Flora Larina
This young designer was noticed and praised for her collection at "Islamic Style" event in Kazan in 2012. Encouraged by the feedback she moved to Florence to study at the Institute of Fashion Design and Marketing Polimoda. It is one of the best design schools in Italy who accepts the best students from all over the world. After 9 months of training Flora presented collection to her teachers and fellow students called Nigh Florence, which was inspired by Tatar national dress and Italian traditional dress Belinciaga. Dresses were decorated with hand-embroidery whilst being complimented by scarves, hats and veils.

Wedding dresses
Ms Rufina Nugumanova and Gulnara Kasiova had presented the following dresses at the Friendship Week event:

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