Tradition is Not Decoration

Why work with Uzbek textiles starts with knowing the technology and ends with the market

Traditional textiles too often enter contemporary fashion as ready-made symbols: stripes, ornament, a familiar colour. In this approach, the image remains on the surface, while the technology, time, craftsperson’s hand and economics of production disappear from view. For a designer, that means losing the material’s most important content.

My own experience of working with Uzbek textiles and young designers shows that tradition begins with knowledge. Ikat, or abrband, is a method of dyeing threads before weaving. The warp threads are tied and dyed according to a pre-calculated pattern, then the fabric is woven so that the design takes shape in its characteristic blurred form. That effect is rooted in technology, precise calculation, repeated handwork and a particular school of craftsmanship.

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A person can work with ikat for many years and still see it primarily as a beautiful pattern. The fabric then becomes detached from its history and turns into a universal decorative surface. The connection between the finished piece and the people who preserve the technique, pass it down within their families and sustain production disappears.

The situation is further complicated by printed imitations of ikat. Synthetic fabrics with designs that imitate handwoven cloth are appearing on the market. Visually, they reproduce the same motif, but technically they belong to a different category. Such products are cheaper and more accessible, so hand weaving has to compete not only for the fabric buyer, but also for the right to be recognised for what it is.

A designer’s choice in this situation has consequences far beyond a single collection. Buying handmade fabric supports the craftsperson’s work, ordering the material helps sustain the production chain, and an accurate description of the product explains its price to the buyer. Designers play a role in shaping taste and consumer awareness. If the professional community stops distinguishing handwoven ikat from printed imitations, that distinction gradually disappears from the market as well.

The Fabric Already Holds Meaning

Respect for a traditional material begins with the way it is used in the design. You can see it in how the fabric behaves in a garment, how its rhythm changes, where the ornament is left visible and how the designer works with the inside of the piece. Decorative choices also need to be made consciously: the origin of a symbol, its meaning and whether it is appropriate all matter just as much as the form, material and function of the garment.

On one of the courses, a participant brought a garment made from traditional striped bekasam, a fabric historically used, among other things, for men’s clothing and chapans. The work was carefully made and the design had character. Yet almost every stripe was covered with stones and rhinestones in matching colours. An enormous amount of handwork had gone into the piece, but the original fabric had almost disappeared beneath the decoration.

This example is important not as a ready-made prohibition. The designer has the right to experiment. Professional responsibility begins with understanding exactly what changes in the material and what meaning that change creates. When the surface of a traditional fabric is completely covered, the designer needs to recognise the implications of such a transformation: they are working not only with a pattern, but also with the memory of the technology behind it.

Contemporary Form Requires Knowledge

Preserving tradition does not mean endlessly reproducing familiar forms. Traditional material can have a place in contemporary clothing if the designer knows how to translate it into a relevant silhouette, sound construction and a clear proposition for the buyer. Contemporary relevance comes through working with form, function and context while maintaining a conscious connection with the source.

This logic is also reflected in the educational process. In spring 2026, at a regional training programme in Samarkand, we began with Uzbek costume from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the history of atlas, adras and ikat, and the possibilities and challenges of traditional textiles. In the mentoring programme in Tashkent, this was complemented by colour, silhouette, styling, customer profiles, museum context and work on a future collection. During the practical stage, participants moved on to mock-ups, material selection, calculating fabric requirements and production techniques.

This approach helps avoid superficial borrowing. A designer sees tradition on several levels at once: as a technique, a visual language, a craft economy and a material for contemporary industry. They can change the form while respecting the fabric’s origins, creating something new without erasing its original content.

In my own work as the founder of MARU and a mentor, I constantly return to this connection. My practice brings together contemporary clothing, Uzbek textiles, hand techniques and educational projects. What matters is not only the finished collections, but also the ability to pass knowledge on to designers, craftspeople, buyers and the next generation of professionals.

Heritage Needs a Market

Recognising cultural value alone is not enough to keep handmade production alive. A craftsperson needs an order, a designer needs a buyer, and a young brand needs a platform where a product can be presented, its origins explained and sold. Without a connection to the market, heritage becomes a declaration detached from everyday economic life.

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The international Atlas Bayrami festival in Margilan is a telling example. Its programme combines the preservation of textile techniques with training for young designers, the development of creative industries, branding, marketing, entrepreneurship and business meetings. The festival treats fabric as both cultural knowledge and an economic resource.

Margilan. How atlas is becoming more than just textileThe first day of the Atlas Bayrami festival showed how history, education, design and the local economy come together in traditional textiles.mag.humodoc.com

For Central Asia, this connection is particularly important. Traditional textiles survive not only in the craft sphere, but also in contemporary clothing, provided they receive a professional interpretation, go through a complete production cycle and find a buyer. In such a system, the craftsperson carries the technique forward through their work, the designer develops their own language, and the market receives a product with a clear origin and known material qualities.

Tradition lives not in repeating an external symbol, but in passing knowledge on, from craftsperson to designer, from designer to buyer. It is reflected in the choice of fabric, the precision of the cut, the treatment of ornament and respect for the craftsperson’s work. That is why a contemporary designer is responsible not only for the appearance of a garment, but for the entire journey of the material, from thread and technique to the finished piece that becomes part of everyday life.

This material was prepared in partnership with the UNESCO Office in Uzbekistan