DUBAI, March 25: Chechnya’s First Lady, Medni Kadyrova, has displayed her fashion collection to a captivated audience in Dubai, faithful to the politics of her husband who has sought to impose a strict dress codes in the Caucasus republic.

More than 20 veiled Chechen models paced the catwalk in a Dubai palace on Saturday evening, clad in silk and carefully embroidered muslin dresses that covered them from head to toe but also managed to outline their figures.

The show culminated in a display of wedding dresses.

Organised by a fashion house that was launched by Mrs Kadyrova, it was the first such show for the label outside Chechnya.

“With their beautiful eyes and their slender figures, they actually look like houris,” said Omar, a Palestinian working at the show. “But our young women who wear revealing tops and short skirts, will they agree to dress like this?” he asked.

‘Firdaws’ was founded by Mrs Kadyrova in 2009 “to lead Chechen women towards a new way of life, full of harmony and serenity, based on the national Islamic traditions,” according to a statement by the show’s organisers.

“Dubai was chosen for the event because of the good relations between the two countries and between the Kadyrovs and the ruling family” in the Emirate, said an official.

“My designs are inspired by natural beauty and the grace of Arab women, to whom I dedicate my collection,” Mrs Kadyrova said, adding that she hoped the show in Dubai would be “the first step towards the organisation of many others in the region”.

Mrs Kadyrova is married to the Kremlin-backed strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a 35-year-old former Chechen nationalist who took power in 2004 and has described Islamic law as superior “to the laws of the Russian federation”.

A father of seven, Mr Kadyrov has sought to encourage women to wear headscarves and men to take multiple wives, even though traditions like polygamy are in conflict with Russian law.—AFP