Zhanel Mussakhanova is an alternative fashion designer, multidisciplinary artist, educator, and content creator based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Born in the cultural heart of Kazakhstan — Almaty — Zhanel grew up surrounded by art, music, literature, and underground fashion. This rich creative atmosphere shaped her distinct visual language and sparked a lifelong pursuit of experimental expression across multiple disciplines.

As a fashion designer and artist, she has worked with platforms such as Kazakhstan Fashion Week, Artkoshe, and emerging collectives across Central Asia. Her work explores themes of identity, subculture, memory, and myth — fusing sculptural silhouettes with raw emotion.

As an educator, Zhanel has collaborated with institutions like KIMEP University (Almaty), Taylor’s University (Kuala Lumpur), Milan Creative Academy (Shenzhen), and ADS Vietnam Design Institute, mentoring new generations of creatives in fashion thinking and interdisciplinary art.

"I don’t just create clothing — I translate internal states into wearable emotion."

Zhanel’s aesthetic blends post-Soviet visual codes, poetic minimalism, and rebellious softness — crafting a world where fashion is not decoration, but a language.