FASHION
Conceptual garments as vessels of culture, purpose and meaning.
Fashion functions as a living language within Kazakova's practice, where the garment becomes both artifact and narrative. Indigenous Hip Hop Couture is the conceptual framework that defines this body of work. Rooted in Slavic Indigenous motifs and informed by traditional crafts from diverse cultures, the artist upcycles, reconstructs, and creates one-of-a-kind forms from ancient textiles, mass-produced materials, and found objects. Her work explores the idea of global reindigenization—reconnecting contemporary life with ancestral knowledge through a renewed visual language that bridges traditional craftsmanship with the aesthetics of hip hop and contemporary culture. These garments are not only worn, but inhabited—as extensions of the body, the story, and the Spirit.
PUMA x JAHNKOY
The PUMA × JAHNKOY collaboration explores the meeting point of contemporary sportswear, craftsmanship, and cultural memory. The collection features original ornaments created by Marusya Kazakova (BABAJAHGA), inspired by Slavic visual traditions and reinterpreted through a contemporary artistic language.
While many of the motifs draw from Slavic heritage, their underlying symbolism echoes across numerous Indigenous and traditional cultures around the world, reflecting a shared human visual language that transcends borders. Through this work, the artist invites a renewed appreciation of the cultural knowledge embedded within traditional ornamentation and the universal values it carries.
At the heart of the collaboration is a vision of cultural regeneration—the belief that a new generation can come together to preserve, restore, and reimagine the crafts, symbols, and ancestral knowledge that connect humanity. These traditions are not relics of the past, but living expressions of identity, creativity, and collective memory that no society can afford to lose.
The collection combines sustainable materials with intricate construction, embroidery, and handcrafted details, creating garments that embody both contemporary design and enduring cultural significance. The symbolic patterns serve not only as visual elements, but also as expressions of protection, resilience, and spiritual well-being, transforming each piece into an object that carries meaning as well as function.
WORLD CUP KIT
Created for the FIFA World Cup, this football kit is a call for unity through peace, culture, and our shared humanity. Conceived as more than a sports uniform, it reflects the belief that football has the power to bring people together across nations, languages, and cultures.
At the heart of the design is the phrase "ZA MIR" (За Мир), a Slavic expression meaning "For Peace." Because the word mir also carries the meaning of "world," the phrase embodies a dual message: for peace and for the world—expressing hope for a more harmonious future.
The kit features Marusya Kazakova's original symbolic visual language, incorporating contemporary ornamental compositions and ancient Bukvitsa letterforms. Rather than reproducing historical motifs, the work transforms ancestral ideas into a new artistic vocabulary that speaks to protection, resilience, unity, and the continuity of culture.
Featured throughout the collection is the phrase "Forever Forward," expressing optimism, perseverance, and the belief that a better future is created when humanity moves forward together. The collection envisions a new generation united by respect for one another's cultures and traditions, working collectively to preserve craft, cultural memory, and the shared heritage that belongs to us all.
The World Cup becomes more than a sporting event—it becomes a platform for connection, reminding us that culture, creativity, and collective spirit have the power to inspire peace and shape a better tomorrow.
DECEIVED: No More
Originally presented as multifaceted performances in New York and Moscow in 2018, DECEIVED: No More is a multidisciplinary art project that examines how cultural identity is constructed, transformed, and often distorted within contemporary society and the global fashion system.
Beginning from a personal investigation into her own Slavic-Siberian heritage and upbringing in the post-Soviet reality, Marusya Kazakova explores the disappearance of traditional knowledge, craftsmanship, and cultural memory under the pressures of globalization and mass production. At the same time, the project investigates cross-cultural references, uncovering unexpected similarities between contemporary cultures across geographically distant regions. By revealing shared visual languages, artisanal traditions, and fundamental human values, the work challenges the notion of cultures as isolated entities, instead proposing a living dialogue between them.
The project questions the homogenization of style and identity, where manufactured trends increasingly replace individual expression and living cultural traditions. Rather than presenting traditional dress as costume or nostalgia, DECEIVED: No More repositions Indigenous craft as a living, evolving language capable of shaping the future.
Through handcrafted garments, performance, installation, and collaboration with artisans, the project advocates for cultural restoration, creative sovereignty, and the renewal of ancestral knowledge within contemporary life. Ultimately, DECEIVED: No More envisions a future in which diversity is celebrated, craftsmanship is valued, and culture becomes a force for unity rather than division.
SNEAKERS
Customized and hand crafted sneakers developed in collaboration with Puma, adorned with Slavic traditional trims, high level of Indian beadwork and vinyl prints.
