Astana to Host Green Runway, Central Asia's Sustainable Fashion Debut

Astana will stage Green Runway on April 23 at the IEC EXPO International Exhibition Center, 53/1 Mangilik El Avenue, as part of the Regional Ecological Summit and RES 2026 EXPO running April 22–24. Promoted as the region’s first international sustainable-fashion runway, the show will bring designers from Central Asia and Azerbaijan together on a program framed by three creative briefs and a scenography built from live plantings.

Seven designers named in regional materials are slated to present 10-12 look collections: Tatiana Vorotnikova of Kyrgyzstan, Gulnara Khalilova of Azerbaijan, Leyli Khaidova of Turkmenistan, Elena Ladik of Uzbekistan, Khurshed Satorov and Nafisa Imranova of Tajikistan, and Aidarkhan Kaliyev of Kazakhstan. Each collection will be organized around the three concepts the organizers set out: Eco-Heritage, with reimagined traditional costume using natural fabrics and dyes; Upcycling & Recycling, with garments created from recycled resources; and Bio-Design, which will incorporate natural prints and references to rare plant species listed in the Red Book.

Organizers describe the runway’s staging as a "living space" using live plants and natural elements, and they plan a plant-filled scenography to underline fashion’s connection to nature. The curatorial aim is explicit: position Green Runway as a cross-sectoral platform where designers, environmentalists, investors and government meet to discuss eco-creative solutions during the RES 2026 program. The wider expo, promoted by RES 2026 organizers, expects more than 20,000 visitors, participation from 30+ countries, 300+ exhibiting companies across a 12,000 m² exhibition area, and roughly 1,500 official summit delegates.

The event sits inside a busy side-event schedule at the IEC EXPO, which includes an Astana Eco Film Festival, the FALAK art exhibition Song of Water and Land, and a Green Investment Forum running April 22–24. The expo’s side-events materials frame Green Runway as combining "high art, ecological responsibility, and diplomacy among Central Asian countries," and list Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the International Green Technologies and Investment Projects Center, and Kazakh Invest National Company among key supporters.

Regional previews have already signaled the show’s material focus: silk, traditional craft techniques and plant-based prints are expected to appear alongside visible upcycling and recycled textiles. The runway will therefore test two things at once: whether curated heritage languages can be translated into garments that meet sustainable-material standards, and whether a fashion moment inside a 12,000 m² green-technology expo will translate into investor and diplomatic attention.

If Green Runway on April 23 succeeds in bringing those audiences together at IEC EXPO, it will mark more than a first for regional catwalks; it will stage fashion as a practical contribution to the RES 2026 agenda of attracting green investment and showcasing environmentally responsible solutions.