The finals of Miss Qazaqstan 2025, the 27th national beauty pageant in Kazakhstan, will take place in the Almaty Metro. According to the Regional Communications Service, the station chosen to host the event is Auezov Theatre. However, the exact date of the event remains unknown.
That said, the very idea of hosting the final stage of Kazakhstan’s most prominent beauty pageant in a metro station is astonishing. According to Aizhan Ruzayeva, the contest director, Miss Qazaqstan simply wants to be closer to the people.
«The Almaty Metro is not just a means of transport. It is a cultural venue. We want the contest to be closer to people. A final surrounded by architectural forms and living urban planning will emerge as a milestone event,» she said.
Organizers believe that such an unusual platform will contribute additional meaning to the beauty contest, which is anticipated to express synergy between beauty, fashion, urban aesthetics and technology.
«It’s important for us that Miss Qazaqstan be not just a catwalk but a platform for self-realization — an event to present oneself and inspire others. We want to prove that beauty is not about setting frames, but about the possibility of choice and self-expression.»
This is not the first time the Almaty Metro has turned into something more than just a means of commuting. Last fall, the city’s underground hosted concerts of various genres, theatrical performances and thematic exhibitions during the celebration of City Day. This included a photo display showcasing the city’s history.
However, the concept of transforming a subway into a stage is not new. The world has already seen several events held on platforms or even inside moving trains.
France
France was the first country to host similar events. Maison Margiela — then known as Maison Martin Margiela, a Parisian haute couture house — pioneered the idea of hosting fashion shows in the metro by staging one in a disused Saint‑Martin metro station in 1992, with models walking down the stairs lit only by candlelight.
In 2017, Andra Dumitrascu, a Berlin-based designer, chose the Rambuteau Metro station in Paris during Paris Fashion Week as a runway. According to Fashion Network, Dumitrascu did not have official permission for the show and faced challenges as passengers «devoured» models while boarding and exiting the trains.
Brazil
São Paulo Metro hosted São Paulo Fashion Week in 2013, with 40 models walking a «catwalk» stretching more than 14 kilometers, according to the official website of São Paulo Metro. As seen on the photos by Reuters, the models actually used a moving subway train as their runway.
Russia
In 1997, Givenchy, the French luxury fashion and perfume house, staged a show at a Moscow Metro depot near the Sokol station to showcase its winter collection. According to Kommersant, it was the first time that Moscow’s fashion elite was delivered to the event on special metro cars, with champagne served. The prominent British designer Alexander McQueen, Givenchy’s creative director at the time, attended the event in person.
In 2016, the Moscow Metro hosted another fashion show. According to Russiabeyond.com, this one was held by Russian designer Alexander Terekhov, who chose Dostoevskaya station, with models walking along the lobby marble floor.
Uzbekistan
In 2023, designer and model Madina Mahmudova, also known as Rixdinas, carried out a fashion show in a car of the Tashkent Metro and uploaded a video of the event online, as reported by Gazeta.uz. However, the event wasn’t approved by local authorities, so she was later summoned by local transportation police to write a letter of explanation.
