By Azernews

By Laman ?smayilova

Azerbaijani designer Gulnara Khalilova has delighted the guests of the fifth season of Aspara Fashion Week (Kazakhstan) with stunning collection of outfits created with the use of kelagayi called "Silk Treasure".

The four-day fashion show was held virtually amid coronavirus pandemic, bringing together designers from many countries

Before the show, Gulnara Khalilova addressed the event. In her speech, the Azerbaijani designer stressed that her other fashion collections were successfully presented at Fashion Weeks and international events in Turkey, Russia, China, Austria, Romania, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other countries. The designer plans to present her new collection on international catwalks in future. She also expressed her gratitude to the founder of the Aspara Fashion Week project, the famous designer from Kazakhstan Aidarkhan Kaliyev for the invitation. 

Notably, this fashion collection was first presented in November 2019. The project was implemented jointly with the national brand "Azerbaijan Kelagayi" with the support of the International Mugham Center. 

The event was dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the inclusion of traditional art and symbolism of  kelagayi in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. 

Gulnara Khalilova, the head of the Center of National Costumes, is a frequent guest of international fashion weeks. She is the two-times winner at Eurasian International Fashion Festival "Silk Road" held in China.

Her works are also very popular among Turkish public figures, representatives of culture and art such as Ajda Pekkan, Emrah Erdogan, Beyazit Ozturk, Soner Sarikabadayi, and others.

She also designed costume for Azerbaijan's 2013 Eurovision representative Farid Mammadov and created hand panel with the official mascots of the EuroGames.

During the opening of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Champion of the European Games Ilham Zakiyev was in national dress, created by the designer which was a novelty in the history of the Olympic movement.

Khalilova is the author of a number of books dedicated to the traditions of clothing, including the history of Azerbaijan national clothing, the textbooks and catalogs for higher education institutions.

In 2014-2015 she worked as a teacher at the State Academy of Fine Arts. Since 2017, she is teaching at Khazar University. The designer also heads the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Association.