Louis Vuitton responds to young Kazakh woman’s idea of creating yurt-shaped bag

The world-famous brand Louis Vuitton may release a new yurt-shaped handbag. The French fashion house immediately responded to a proposal by young Astana resident Ainur Polatova to add such a unique accessory to their handbag collection. The girl was invited to Paris to further discuss the offer. According to Ainur, the main idea is to show the world the richness of Kazakhstan's history and culture through fashion. It bears noting that the bag can be not just a fashion item but also a case for a Kazakh board game.

“Last year, Louis Vuitton opened a special Yurt Pop-Up. Based on this concept, I made an offer on a new accessory. On the one hand, it is a bag that looks like a yurt and, on the other hand, it is a board game that raises intellectual development. That is a very unique idea. All the brand’s bags are similar to each other. I assumed they might like my offer but never thought they would reply. To my surprise, I got a response two weeks later,” said entrepreneur, Ainur Polatova.

Ainur’s work and future profession are not connected with fashion. She is studying for her master's degree at the Philology Department of the Gumilyov Eurasian National University. However, last year, she decided to launch a startup to produce national board games. She won a grant to implement the project and started production. Presently, Ainur receives orders not only from Kazakh citizens but also from residents of foreign countries, including the U.S., Turkey, and the Netherlands.

“I came up with this idea in late August or early September. We were hanging out with friends in an IT cafe, when I noticed that all those around me were playing foreign board games, and I thought that there are good Kazakh board games that people can play like that too. For two or three months I was busy looking for different resources. And eventually, in November, I presented a project aimed at promoting Kazakh board games. These are long-forgotten games. To date, I’ve got five of them, including Bestas, Tumar, Agash Ui Bestemshesi, Tumar Bestemshesi, and Togyz kumalak,” Polatova added.

Now Ainur Polatova intends to promote Kazakh board games in Europe. Soon, she is leaving for Germany to study there under the academic mobility program of the university she is currently enrolled in. She is keen to hold championships in these board games and introduce their study into the country's school curriculum.