Titled The Distance Between Me and the World, the online edition of the issue had been viewed tens of millions times soon after its release, with the viewers repeatedly asking, "How does Xinjiang always bring such surprises to fashion?"

From global titles like ELLE and Harper's BAZAAR to domestic magazines celebrating local culture, Xinjiang has become the most sought-after backdrop for their fashion shoot in China.

A visual feast 

"The first impression was a sweep of yellow, then mist," Wen recalled. Her initial impression of Kashi perfectly captures Xinjiang's unique visualness. This vast land, accounting for one sixth of China's land area, boasts some of the world's most diverse color palettes—the flowing "gold" of the Taklimakan Desert under the sun, the piercing azure of the Pamir Plateau, the warm caramel color of Kashi's ancient city walls and the vivid crimson of pomegranate gardens in Hetian (Hotan), not to mention the vibrant patterns of the Atlas silk traditionally made by Uygurs and Uzbeks.

"In Xinjiang, the sunlight makes everything sparkle," photographer Ma Hailun told Yi Tiao, a popular online video platform known for its short videos about daily life and culture in China, articulating a shared fascination among fashion creatives.

This visual impact stems from both natural and cultural endowments. The Gaotai dwellings are the most representative "living fossils" of this legacy. Generations of Uygur families have lived in them, with each succeeding generation adding a new level to their ancestral home, eventually forming a three-dimensional complex of interlinked houses and layered rooftops. During breaks in her shoot, Wen wandered through these structures, her fingers tracing the lines on the wooden doors polished smooth by time. "Every groove tells a story," she said.

The Gaotai buildings possess a raw texture and granular quality that make them a natural backdrop for fashion features. The Arabic edition of Harper's BAZAAR captured this essence in its Spring/Summer 2018 issue, where supermodel Joan Smalls' retro harmonized with the tiered roofs, seamlessly bridging ancient and modern aesthetics.

The natural landscape offers an even grander stage for storytelling. During her desert shoot, Wen stood atop a dune in a white gown, her silhouette elongated by the setting sun on the undulating waves of sand. Such scenes of unity between heaven, earth and humans create an ambiance unattainable in urban studios.

A pioneering desert fashion show took this further in July, transforming the Bachu White Sand Mountain Desert Park in southwest Xinjiang, famed for its white dunes, into a runway. Against a 150-meter-high natural sand curtain, models wearing designs that blended Shanghai and Xinjiang influences sashayed between the dunes, creating a striking contrast between the rugged windswept landscape and haute couture.

For the 2025 Asia-Europe Fashion Week events in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, in September, 30-year-old designer Li Minlu, who comes from Bole, a city in north Xinjiang, was given the theme Xinjiang Heart and Fashion to work on.

Drawing inspiration from Xinjiang's expansive fields, Li's collection, titled Wind Through the Wilderness, aimed to recreate the sensation of traveling through open land. She infused impressions of the sky, wind and clouds into her garments, incorporating traditional Xinjiang badanmu (almond) patterns—symbolizing resilience and hope through dynamic curves. Combining free-spirited denim with comfortable linens and delicate lace, she created a romantic, ethereal texture.

"The fluttering hemline is like the wind sweeping across the wilderness, a soulful ode to freedom," she told XinjiangNet.com.cn.

Xinjiang's diverse topography—deserts, oases, snow-capped mountains and grasslands—can fulfill every fantasy of fashion creation, from rugged Western styles to soft, poetic elegance.

With long daylight hours and exceptionally clear, piercing sunlight, Xinjiang is a favorite destination for photographers. The sharp midday sun accentuates architectural lines and fabric textures, while the soft, diffused glow of dawn and dusk gives scenes a dreamlike hue. Wen's team specifically scheduled the shoot at sunrise to capture its poetic beauty.

This natural condition also attracted British monthly Wallpaper in 2023 to Kashi's old town and the Pamir Plateau, where they captured the beauty of Xinjiang with supermodel Wang Wenqin. The interplay of fashion and local customs create a sense of dialogue across millennia, lending a cinematic quality to every Xinjiang-themed spread—a premium aesthetic highly sought after by fashion publications.

Sources of inspiration 

When visitors reach designer Mewlan Turaq's cultural boutique in Kashi, they are invariably captivated by the displays—Atlas silk dresses paired with Suzani embroidered vests, gleaming Tajik silver jewelry and Hetian mulberry bark paper decorations exuding an earthy fragrance. These crafts, bearing millennia of wisdom, are becoming invaluable sources of inspiration for the fashion world.

Atlas silk is undoubtedly the brightest star. Dubbed the queen of silks, this fabric is made from mulberry silk using a unique warp-tying and dyeing technique, resulting in patterns reminiscent of flowing clouds or rippling water, with bold, vibrant colors. In Mewlan's work, Atlas silk is not merely a material but a cultural symbol. He merges century-old designs with modern tailoring, revitalizing ancient textiles.

As early as 2007, local designer Sun Xiuqin introduced Atlas elements during the China International Fashion Week, pioneering the use of Xinjiang's intangible heritage in fashion design.

The revival of Suzani embroidery showcases the power of cultural fusion. Meaning needlework in Persian, this Central Asian tradition involves embroidering cotton or silk with auspicious patterns like flowers and vines in vibrant, dynamic colors. While researching ancient texts in museums, Mewlan discovered that Suzani was once integral to Uygur daily life, often paired with Atlas silk. At the 2025 Asia-Europe Fashion Week, this technique took center stage, sparking a "tradition-respecting-yet-trend-aligned" fusion with contemporary cuts.

In 2017, he produced a two-minute video titled A Century of Uygur Women's Fashion, comprehensively documenting the evolution of Uygur female attire from the 1910s to the 2010s.

His restoration work is painstaking. To replicate 1980s earrings, he convinced an old goldsmith to revive a lost technique. This ethos of "from nature, to life" aligns with the fashion industry's growing pursuit of sustainable aesthetics.

Bridging tradition and modernity 

The encounter between fashion and Xinjiang is, ultimately, about people. In this aesthetic convergence, a group of individuals play pivotal roles as cultural bridges—preservers of local heritage and practitioners of modern aesthetics. Mewlan and Ma are two standout figures in this regard.

Mewlan's life journey itself is a cultural dialogue. This post-90s Uygur grew up in Kashi and studied medicine in Jiangxi Province in east China. "Nanchang (capital of Jiangxi) and Kashi gave me two different perspectives," he said. During the six years away from home, he examined his culture as an outsider for the first time, discovering untapped aesthetic value in the clothing and accessories he had once taken for granted.

After graduation, he left medicine behind and returned home to partner with his mother to revive Uygur attire. Mewlan's strength lies in his ability to interpret historical garment patterns while applying contemporary design thinking—honoring traditional techniques while meeting the visual demands of fashion shoots. His boutique has become a treasure trove for fashion magazines. This is where the Shang Cheng Shi team found inspiration, integrating Suzani embroidery and Atlas silk into Wen's styling.

If Mewlan represents the rooted inheritor, Ma is the outward-bound discoverer. This Xinjiang-native, an International Photography Award winner, felt a disconnect while studying fashion photography in New York City, the United States. In 2018, she returned to Xinjiang, using fashion photography to document her people—dressing Kashi aunts in designer wear or featuring a Uygur girl with braces as a cover star.

"The blinged-out headpieces of aunties in stairwells, the casual embroidery on herders—these are the most authentic expressions of fashion," Ma said. Her work proves that Xinjiang's beauty needs no embellishment, only a fashion-oriented perspective has to be discovered and presented.

Fashion magazines' preference for Xinjiang reflects broader industry shifts. In recent years, with the rise of Guochao, or China Chic, featuring fancy designs mixed with elements from traditional culture, the fashion world has pivoted from blind adherence to Western aesthetics to exploring and reviving local culture. Consumers, too, are weary of homogenized trends, seeking personalized expressions with stories and cultural depth.

This demand resonates perfectly with the development of Xinjiang's cultural industry. According to the Department of Culture and Tourism of Xinjiang, since 2005, central and regional governments have invested 629 million yuan ($89 million) in intangible heritage preservation, establishing 120 regional-level heritage bases and over 250 exhibition spaces. The Xinjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Center, which became operational in September, showcases techniques like mulberry bark papermaking and copper forging, serving as an inspiration hub for fashion creatives. 

At Kashi's Heritage Market, live demonstrations of Atlas weaving and Uygur embroidery attract tourists and provide dynamic settings for fashion shoots, enabling the visitors to immerse themselves in cultural depth while sourcing inspiration.

Fashion creatives' fascination with Xinjiang is no short-lived trend but a return to a more authentic, profound and vibrant aesthetic. As desert winds caress flowing gowns, traditional motifs adorn modern cuts, and local stories reach global audiences through the lens, this aesthetic convergence across the sands is transcending fashion itself.

(Print Edition Title: Desert Dazzle) 

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