MLB – My Little Bukhara

Nadira Khalikova has been living in Germany since 2015. She came to Germany as a master’s student. Over the years, she has dealt with human rights and textile studies of the Orient. During her short trip to Uzbekistan in 2018, she saw how difficult the life of women in Uzbekistan is on the ground. Many of the women’s stories she personally experienced were sad. She wanted to give something back to her homeland and help women live a free life. Nadira believes that independence goes hand in hand with financial freedom.

Nowadays, young Uzbek women are fighting for their equality in society. But mentality and patriarchal mindset are very deeply ingrained in people’s minds. Which is why women in Uzbekistan are still discriminated against and experience sexism on a daily basis. Nadira has set herself the goal of making her contribution to the independence of Uzbek women. That’s why MLB was created to improve the lives of local women through sophisticated fashion. Since the Corona pandemic in 2020, we at MLB have been working on collections through which we financially support our craftswomen. For our first collection, we worked with three women, and today we have over 35 craftswomen in our network. With the purchase of a chapan, you finance jobs for three women.

In the history of Uzbekistan, the chapan has been a very important garment of the population over the centuries. The chapan was worn by women and men, by the rulers and the people in summer as well as in winter. Even today, the chapan is an important piece of clothing in people’s everyday lives. It represents Uzbek history, tradition and mentality. For our 2023 collection, we make timeless and high-quality chapans that can be worn for any occasion. Each chapan is individually made by hand.

At MLB, we have two primary goals: First and foremost, our work focuses on people and nature. We work closely with local Uzbek craftswomen and cultivate a respectful approach to nature’s resources. Furthermore, we would like to use the skills and knowledge of the craftswomen and adapt them to the requirements of modern times. In this way, we reinterpret traditional Uzbek craftsmanship.

Ikat fabrics from Uzbekistan are still woven by hand according to ancient techniques and dyed with the means that have their origin in nature. To produce a 100 meter long and 38 cm wide ikat fabric, weavers work for over 40 days and carry out every process by hand to this day. We try not to waste a piece of the precious fabric. That’s why every piece of material is reused.