Ornament is the integral part of the history and culture of Kyrgyzstan. There are about 200 main elements of the Kyrgyz pattern, while their combinations produce over 3.5 thousand various ornaments. Study of Kyrgyz patterns is a science, while academicians have compared the art of saima (embroidery – author's note) with the Epic of Manas. According to experts, embroiderers like manaschi weave the epic texts of the ornament while filling it with the cultic and magic function.

Symbolic signs and patterned motifs make up the basis of ornament, while the ornament itself is unique because people depicted what they see around themselves. For example, craftswomen were inspired by mountains, flowers or waves of Lake Issyk-Kul. Moreover, we can often see the image of a person, yurt and the sun, which is believed to bring life and happiness.


According to Natalia Sultanova, chairperson of the Union of Designers of Kyrgyzstan, women did not have much time to do handicrafts in past centuries. One of the reasons was the nomadic lifestyle. The Kyrgyz relocated with all their village and moved to other places for winter. Men herded cattle, while women ran the household.

"But even despite constant duties like cooking, taking care of children and old people, women always had time to do embroidery," Sultanova said. "Because a person could not live without the tangible culture and without filling the culture with beauty and aesthetics."

According to Sultanova, the Kyrgyz patterns reflect certain events, energy, place and motif. Just like music reproduces important moments and colours during sound, the same way ornaments carry certain meaning, style and beauty in themselves.

For example, the geometric shape of the ornament contains images of squares, rhombi, triangles, circles and other shapes. The plant ornament implies the twining stem, flowers or plants. The animal ornament usually speaks for itself, and later on, when Islam was adopted, it was replaced by zoomorphic ornament. It was believed that the bad image of an animal desecrates the labour of the Supreme Being, and people started to draw certain parts of animals and birds. The patterns depict the horns of a deer, sheep, bird nests, camel's or swan's neck.

"Both my profession and people who have surrounded me have been related with the traditional applied art," she said. "Over time, I became interested in the national costume. I like everything about it: its shape, colour, ornaments, drawings. It remains one of the main lines in my creative work."

Vorotnikova sews outfits in ethnic style by adapting traditions to contemporary trends. The entrepreneur has long gone beyond Kyrgyzstan, and glorified the Kyrgyz culture in both neighbouring countries and beyond. In her works, she uses mainly traditional materials such as linen, cotton, silk velvet.

Tatiana wonders how a person could observe the proportions and select appropriate colours in the past years without any artistic background.

"How they managed to embroider ornaments on large areas without having pencils or PCs? I guess, it was more at the genetic level. Or maybe it was perfect innate taste," said Vorotnikova.

Tatiana also emphasised that Kyrgyz pattern is not just a beauty of lines or colour for her, it's more art and culture where she can gain many ideas and distribute them further. That's why it is important for Vorotnikova to preserve it all. Otherwise, according to her, the knowledge accumulated for thousands of years could just stop existing.

Nazgul Kaarova is the founder and director of fashion house KESHTE by Kaarova Nazgul. She tries to combine ancient traditions and the present. According to her, her hobbies started in her childhood, and love to handicraft was passed genetically.

Nazgul liked to play dolls when she was a child. It was a whole another world for her, where she could turn her imagination and creativity into reality. When Nazgul became older, she often did sewing and her father sent her after completion of the ninth grade to the college to study as a tailor. After the college, Kaarova decided to continue study in the same field and was admitted to Osh Kyrgyz-Uzbek university to the department of design, clothing and service.

During study, Nazgul almost lived in the library, studying ethnography, history, what ancient women, men and children dressed like. It had its impact. Kaarova successfully graduated and then created her personal brand, where she was free in her creativity and could sew things in the national style not only for holidays, but also for every day.

I have always admired the richness of our culture," the designer said. "It's wonderful how our ancestors created masterpieces without professional education and how they set all patterns in a right way. That's why it is important to me, being the expert, to preserve the self-identity of our people, to distribute and to deliver our heritage to our descendants."

In turn, Natalia Sultanova, chair of the Union of Designers, emphasised that cultural values need to be preserved mainly to keep the customs that have accumulated in the society's life for centuries. And it should be done correctly, according to her.

"In other words, there should be some analytical approach to preserve tangible and cultural values. But authorities seem to have no time for it," the expert said.