Visa Fashion Week Almaty: Day three.

By the third day of Visa Fashion Week Almaty, a warm atmosphere had already settled in among guests, designers, models, and organizers. Familiar faces, contagious laughter, shared emotions backstage and in the hall – all of it turned fashion week into a living ecosystem, where everyone felt truly at home.

Have you ever heard the phrase “a person with a big heart”? That was the very image that came to mind when a model walked the runway wearing a look from Van Miller’s new collection.

This collection is like an emotional portrait: architectural silhouettes are paired with soft detailing; contrasting accents rest on pastel backgrounds. It all echoes the inner harmony of opposites – strength and tenderness, severity and vulnerability, logic and emotion. “Listen to your heart,” the designer urges, reminding us that fashion begins not with trends, but with inner feelings.

The brand Mariko presented a collection titled Dzi, which means “horse” in Armenian. The horse became a symbol of unity between two cultures: Kazakhstan, where the designer lives and works, and Armenia, their historical homeland. In this collection, the horse served as a cultural code, merging two worlds. The garments were rendered in muted tones, while bold shoulder details gave a sense of power and confidence. Wide trousers brought fluidity and freedom to the silhouette, adding an effortless sophistication.

A beautiful full stop to the three-day story of Visa Fashion Week Almaty came in the form of a joint show by ZhSaken and Akmaral. It opened with a nearly theatrical scene: a model stepped onto the runway and performed an expressive fan dance beneath falling snow. This performance became a powerful manifesto of feminine strength and fragility.

Each piece looked like a standalone work of art: hand embroidery, original prints – it’s hard to imagine how many hours went into each detail. Every woman saw herself in the show – delicate, yet with an inner core of strength

Following this emotional introduction came a show where the garments resembled paintings more than traditional fashion looks. Saken Zhaksibayev and Akmaral Zharaskyzy drew inspiration from Japanese aesthetics – traditional kimonos, painting, and the cultural code of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Visa Fashion Week Almaty captured a full spectrum of feelings and emotions – from awe to stillness, from vulnerability to bravery and reminded us that fashion is, above all, the art of feeling and expression.

Photo: Timur Epov