Abstract
The article looks at the processes, metaphors and politics of the “Silk Road” as an ideological concept and the ways in which “authenticity” is actively constructed, implemented and performed as a strategy for development by government, non-governmental agencies and business owners. Case studies from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are touched upon and material from interviews, observations and examples from material culture presented. This project seeks to analyse: the culture of the textiles business in Central Asia and how this operates at the seams of national-ethnic identity within the Eurasian context; the formal and informal business practices of the everyday, operating within the discourses of economic development; and how consumer culture may be interrogated as a means for performing identity at the local and global perspectives. Contemporary intersectional approaches to understanding the business of textiles and fashion in Central Asia should redress the marginalisation of academic efforts across multiple disciplines to unite the region inwardly and outwardly and call for an integrated approach to considering both the cultural and economic value of handmade textiles, which acknowledges and makes visible the role of the artisan, the designer, the entrepreneur, the retailer and all the stages that exist in the value chain between production the final consumer. The precursors to the current framework of research necessarily lie in the work of scholars of development and industrialisation established during the Soviet period. Their expertise must be called upon to enrich the perspective presented here, which is focused on contemporary craftsmanship and enterprise in Central Asia and how current practices in design and business may offer fruitful opportunities for development of the New Silk Road project, both intellectually and economically.
Highlights
Case studies from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are touched upon and material from interviews, observations and examples from material culture presented. This project seeks to analyse: the culture of the textiles business in Central Asia and how this operates at the seams of national-ethnic identity within the Eurasian context; the formal and informal business practices of the everyday, operating within the discourses of economic development; and how consumer culture may be interrogated as a means for performing identity at the local and global perspectives
Contemporary intersectional approaches to understanding the business of textiles and fashion in Central Asia should redress the marginalisation of academic efforts across multiple disciplines to unite the region inwardly and outwardly and call for an integrated approach to considering both the cultural and economic value of handmade textiles, which acknowledges and makes visible the role of the artisan, the designer, the entrepreneur, the retailer and all the stages that exist in the value chain between production the final consumer
The shifts in identity that have emerged from the redefinition of the national identities of these young republics ([Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan]) continue to be an uncommon phenomenon with serious political consequences [...] In an attempt to reconstruct national identities without calling into question the borders inherited from the Soviet Union, the region’s mediaeval and Islamic past were re-evaluated and exploited as a new component of identity, thereby making it possible to overcome ethnic and group divisions.[1]
Summary
The shifts in identity that have emerged from the redefinition of the national identities of these young republics ([Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan]) continue to be an uncommon phenomenon with serious political consequences [...] In an attempt to reconstruct national identities without calling into question the borders inherited from the Soviet Union, the region’s mediaeval and Islamic past were re-evaluated and exploited as a new component of identity, thereby making it possible to overcome ethnic and group divisions.[1]This article explores the role of textiles and clothing in responding to these formal visions of national and regional identity emerging in the Central Asian Republics and the multiple complex roles played by textiles and fashion business owners, artisans and entrepreneurs in enabling the performance of aspects of identity which seek to be both “traditional” and “modern” or “national” and “fashionable” at the same time.This approach considers the multiple roles performed by textiles and fashion designers, makers and entrepreneurs as cultural intermediaries, navigating the complex web of myths linking national identity and the marketing of textiles and dress in Central Asia.
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