‘Made in Kyrgyzstan is gold!’ the rise of the informal Kyrgyzstani apparel industry

Abstract

The Kyrgyzstani apparel industry has seen spectacular growth in recent years, despite informal structures, a predatory business environment, and intersecting crises. Contrary to other apparel producers in the Global South, ‘Made in Kyrgyzstan’ (MiK) has emerged from below and independently of multinational corporations or state-funded development initiatives. This article takes an ethnographic approach to examine how apparel producers navigate the challenging national and geopolitical environment in which their businesses are embedded. It does so based on long-term fieldwork, conducted before (2019), during (2020, online), and after (2021) the pandemic at the Dordoi Bazaar in Bishkek, the main distribution platform for locally produced apparel. Based on the ethnographic material, this article questions the meaningfulness of an informality framework in the corrupt context of the Kyrgyzstani state, and instead shifts the focus on attempts to build durable businesses that are capable of dealing with local and global constraints. Doing so, it makes two related points. Firstly, it traces the unique nature of post-Soviet economic transformation in Kyrgyzstan through the peculiar growth of the informal apparel industry. Secondly, it emphasises the relevance of endemic state corruption when studying informal economic practices on the ground.