Contemporary craftwork from the ancient Silk Road will take center stage at the Victoria and Albert Museum South Kensington next week when the venue hosts a discussion featuring Charos and Timur Kamalov, the founders of Teplo Store from Uzbekistan’s capital city, Tashkent. They and experts from the V&A will examine how design and fashion can spearhead cultural diplomacy in the modern world in the context of sustainability and commercial opportunity.

Uzbekistan has been getting a lot of attention in the UK this year, as evidenced by the well-attended Uzbek Culture and Food Festival in London’s Potters Field Park last June. The BBC listed the country among its “25 best places to travel in 2025” while the Times also touted it as a hot tourist destination. The Guardian ran a feature highlighting Tashkent’s “cosmic architecture” and efforts to preserve it, while the Financial Times highlighted the nation’s booming economy and rapid economic reforms. In July, the UK Parliament launched an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) focused on Central Asia.

It is against this backdrop that the Kamalovs have brought the story of Uzbekistan’s clothing, textiles, jewelry and craftwork to these shores. Established in 2018, their Teplo Store has built a vibrant network of over 200 collaborators including designers and artisans from across the Central Asian nation, 95% of which are women-led businesses. With a mission rooted in ethical production and cultural preservation, Teplo evangelizes traditional Uzbek techniques such as suzani embroidery, ikat weaving and hand-thrown ceramics, presenting them to global audiences at markets, festivals and events, and at their Tashkent concept store.

Teplo is hot off the successful run of its pop-up store in Soho, opened last April, and its debut at this summer’s fifth London Design Biennale, where it became the first retail outlet ever to appear at the event. Forbes chose the store as one of the highlights of the Biennale’s 30 international pavilions that lined Somerset House throughout the month of June.

“Independent designers need more exposure, as their voices are often lost in the noise of multi-million marketing campaigns by established labels,” Timur Kamalov told audiences at the Biennale. “I am grateful we had the chance to highlight the value of independent creativity in today’s fashion landscape.”

According to the V&A, the upcoming event, entitled “Uzbekistan: Community, Culture and Contemporary Craft”, will “explore the landscape of contemporary craft in Uzbekistan, discussing the importance of sustainable heritage practices, commercial opportunities for makers, and the role of the fashion industry. The conversation will be set in the context of the V&A’s collection of objects from Uzbekistan, alongside recent and upcoming projects related to the country.”

The Kamalovs will be joined on stage by Fuchsia Hart, V&A Sarikhani Curator for the Iranian Collection, as well as Laura Searson, V&A Cultural Heritage Preservation Lead, who will moderate the discussion.

Uzbekistan: Community, Culture and Contemporary Craft

Monday, 1 September 2025
18.30 – 20.00
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
Admission: Free, registration required