Fashion show in Makhachkala turns into threats to organizers

The organizers of the fashion show involving young men in effeminate images had no plans to disturb the "morality guardians" and risk their safety, but after the resonance in social networks, the participants and visitors of the show have faced threats, Svetlana Anokhina, a journalist, has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that social media users reacted violently to a video from the opening of a store in Makhachkala, where two young men dressed like women took part in a fashion show. Commentators demanded to punish the organizers for violating the foundations of the Dagestani society. A group of people from Makhachkala demanded from the organizers to apologize to Dagestani Muslims.

A community in the "VKontakte" social network indicated that the event was held behind closed doors; tickets were sent out only to women.

"The show included a presentation of a new collection dedicated to the culture of Eastern countries and autumn. It was intended for a Moscow audience. There was no propaganda [of homosexuality]," the community has explained, noting that the men participating in the show are in relationships with women.

Shows of women's clothes with involvement of young male models are not held in Russia; what happened in Makhachkala can be treated as an exceptional case, says Evgeny Kulikov, the director general of the "Art-Plus" Company, engaged in organizing star performances and fashion shows.

The highlanders' traditions would not accept dressing a man in women's clothes, even if the aim is to escape, a theft, a prank or other trick, Alexei Malashenko, a Caucasian expert, has noted.

Putting on clothes of the other sex has been practiced in the Caucasus as part of the carnival culture; this tradition was spread throughout Dagestan for centuries, says Vladimir Sevrinovsky, a researcher of the Dagestani culture.

The fashion show in Makhachkala was not a provocation, Svetlana Anokhina, a journalist, is sure. She has noted that "morality guardians" themselves rudely insulted the participants in the event and spoke obscenities to them.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported about the attacks of Dagestani "morality guardians" on participants in public events. Thus, in May 2021, there was a scandal at a show of wedding dresses in Makhachkala, where open dresses were demonstrated and which led to calls to ban the events that fail to meet the moral standards accepted in the region.