Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The British-Uzbek Friendship Society, with the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in London, organized an online lecture by professor-art critic, chief researcher of the Institute of Art Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan Elmira Gul on the topic “Ikat: between religion and politics, fashion and contemporary art”, Dunyo news agency reported.

The event was attended by scientists and experts, cultural workers and connoisseurs of Uzbek art from various countries of the world, including Great Britain, France, Finland, New Zealand and others.

In her speech, Elmira Gul spoke about ikat - abra fabrics - not only as a unique piece of art, but also as a social phenomenon, the role of which changed from one historical period to another. It was noted that ikat and the technique of its production were known to many peoples - in Central and Southeast Asia, China, Japan, the Middle East, West Africa and Latin America, but it was in Uzbekistan that it became the brightest symbol of culture.

Until the 7th-8th centuries, the inhabitants of the region mainly used the famous silk samits, which were the main commodity on the Great Silk Road. Their robes contained images of birds and animals. With the advent of Islam in the region, cotton replaced silk. The patterns in cotton fabrics became abstract without any images or reflected important religious symbols.

Over time, silk reappeared in the textile industry in Central Asia. The samits are being replaced by fabrics of backup dyeing - known as abra - semi-silk adras and silk atlases. The nineteenth century became their golden age.

In the twentieth century, these fabrics began to be produced in weaving factories, where manual labor was replaced by machine labor. At the same time, the production of silk abra fabrics by individual craftsmen was outlawed as part of the prohibition of private property. Thus, the political transformations of the last century, new economic conditions and ideological prohibitions ultimately had a negative impact not only on Uzbek ikat weaving, but also on all types of traditional crafts.

The ancient art of hand silk weaving revived after 1991, when Uzbekistan gained independence. Changes in the country’s economic structure and the emergence of private entrepreneurship allowed artisans to start producing silk fabrics again.

However, the real triumph for Uzbek abra fabrics came thanks to Western fashion designers who brought him into the world of haute couture. Sophia Loren appeared in an ikat dress on the cover of Vogue magazine in 1966. In the late 1990s, John Galliano used Central Asian ikat patterns for both his label and Dior.

One of the pillars of the American fashion world, Oscar de la Renta, in his spring 2005 collection, presented a number of designs with patterns created by the famous Uzbek weaver Rasul Mirzaakhmedov. Among those who have used ikat fabrics in their creations are Balenciaga (in 2007), Gucci (in 2010), Roberto Cavalli and many others. Undoubtedly, they served to popularize the culture of Central Asia abroad.

The ikat transformation doesn’t end there. Appearing in various forms, including as a symbol of religious piety, power, a piece of haute couture and casual wear, ikat is already breaking into the realm of art, opening its new unexplored facets.

As the Uzbek expert noted in the conclusion, today it is possible to say without exaggeration that abra fabrics (ikat) have become a real visiting card of Uzbek culture, recognizable throughout the world.