Nomad fashion show mixes ancient, modern
On the shore of one of the world's deepest lakes, high up in Kyrgyzstan's Tian Shan mountains, models strutted and sashayed in outfits mixing the ancient and modern at the World Nomads Fashion festival.
The event, now in its third year, drew designers and fashion-industry figures from about 20 countries to shimmering Lake Issyk-Kul to admire outfits drawing on Kyrgyzstan's millennia-old nomadic culture.
The stiletto heels worn by some models wouldn't be suitable for a proper nomad, but some of their elaborate headdresses that seemed to mimic the horns of cattle were takes on traditional nomad costume. Swirling, voluminous skirts featured in many of the outfits, either elaborately patterned or in blocks of vivid color.
Along with the couture, the show offered visitors the chance to see an array of yurts — the wood-framed tents of skin or felt characteristic of nomads — and brightly colored carpets.
Members of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea perform during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A member of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea performs during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Models wait for their turn to display a collection during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A member of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea performs during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A model displays an outfit from a collection during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A model displays an outfit from the collection by Kyrgyzstan designer Nazira Talaibekova during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Members of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea perform during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Members of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea perform during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A model displays an outfit from the collection by Kyrgyzstan's designer Irina Unsapan during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Kyrgyz women wearing elechecks, the traditional Kyrgyz headdress for married women, show how to wrap an elecheck during the Ak-Moor Fest Ethno-festival in Ornok, a resort village on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A Kyrgyz woman wearing an elecheck, the traditional Kyrgyz headdress for married women, decorates a carpet during the Ak-Moor Fest Ethno-festival in Ornok, a resort village on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A Kyrgyz woman lays out carpets in front of yurts, traditional Kyrgyz houses ,during the Ak-Moor Fest Ethno-festival in Ornok, a resort village on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Members of a Kyrgyz folk group perform showing daily life in a yurt, a traditional Kyrgyz house, during the Ak-Moor Fest Ethno-festival in Ornok, a resort village on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Members of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea perform during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022.(AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A Kyrgyz woman wearing an elecheck, the traditional Kyrgyz headdress for married women, prays inside a yurt, a traditional Kyrgyz house during the Ak-Moor Fest Ethno-festival in Ornok, a resort village on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A model in Kyrgyz national costume gestures during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Members of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea perform during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
A model displays an outfit from the collection by Indonesian designer Akeyla Naraya during the World Nomads Fashion festival Issyk-Kul 2022, at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers (129 miles) east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
Text from AP News story, Nomad fashion show mixes ancient, modern
Photos by Vladimir Voronin