ABOUT THE WORK
Kazakhstan is home to people of many ethnicities and has been for centuries, from the ancient Scyths and Saks, to the Huns and Mongols. Of all these histories the khans who led Kazakhstan for nearly four centuries are perhaps the most revered; the foundation of the khanite effectively marked the beginning of Kazakhstani statehood.
The exhibitors in City Nomads are well aware of their dynasty. Danila Kuchumov designs for what he terms ‘the modern khan’. He sees an ironic lineage between the power and independence of the historical khan and obsessive narcissism of young people’s social media driven lifestyles.
Étage magazine is created by blending this almost forgotten past with contemporary design trends. The only Kazakhstani magazine of its kind, it frequently uses the past as a canvas for the contemporary – staging fashion shoots in Baikonur, the site of the world's first cosmodrome to tracing the influence of Kazakh carpets from the historical to the contemporary.
Danila and Étage
Danila Kuchumov was born in 1997 and is a self-educated designer. He has worked as a graphic designer for various organisations and projects, including Harper's Bazaar, Clique Film Festival, Almaty Urban Forum, AB Restaurants, SNC magazine. He has experience in fashion design; founder and designer of Khan Kuchum clothing. Danila currently works as a graphic designer and illustrator but is also preparing a new collection for Khan Kuchum.
Étage Magazine is a culture and design publication with an interest in understanding and sharing creative processes across the world of arts, culture, design, science and architecture. Overriding visible borders, Étage Magazine is the outcome of efforts of a group of associates from Kazakhstan, Russia, France, the US and Italy. The group are united by a desire to share.
The magazine has featured interviews with Wes Anderson, Anish Kapoor, Hilton McConnico, Vika Gazinskaya, Peter Sohn, and Thomas Broome. Étage Magazine is distributed in Russia, France and Kazakhstan.
For Kazakhstan, the time has come to seek a new identity. This identity will need to take into account multiple layers of cultural context – such as, for example, the presence on the country’s territory of 130 plus ethnic groups and adherents of three different major world religions.
MURAT AUEZOV, KAZAKH PUBLIC FIGURE, CULTURE EXPERT
