Considering Azerbaijan spans two continents, has a colourful history dating back millennia and a culture influenced by surrounding countries from Russia to Armenia, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this country is a melting pot of creativity. Just half a decade ago, even Azerbaijanis looked elsewhere for fashionable finds, as designer Nazrin Agharzayeva tells Chris Schalkx on a visit. Now, things are changing, and the capital is becoming a must-visit for adventurous shopaholics. Here, we take a look at the best spots for shopping in Baku, whether you’re in search of hand-woven carpets that’ll catch your dinner guests’ attention, or one-off bazaar buys designed to initiate conversation on your return.
Nazrin Agharzayeva, cofounder of StockChris Schalkx
Taking stock
Before designer Nazrin Agharzayeva launched Azerbaijan’s first local fashion platform, Stock, with business partners Anar Iskandarli and Saida Nazirova in 2019, Baku’s style crowd only had eyes for foreign brands. “The attitude towards local designers wasn’t great,” she says. “Everyone thought clothes imported from abroad were better.” With Stock, the trio aim to shift that mindset by bringing together more than 75 labels from Azerbaijani-diaspora and Baku-based designers in its industrial-chic showroom along the city’s boulevard. Highlights from the ever-changing collection include sharp-cut blazers lined with reclaimed silk kimonos by Isabeyli, boldly silhouetted tops and dresses by MMMDM and tees with tongue-in-cheek slogans by Off-White-esque streetwear label Estudio Barcode. Hit up nearby Concept Store 27 for silk shawls by textile designer Menzer Hajiyeva, who puts a new spin on the traditional block-printed kelagayi head scarves worn by Azerbaijani women.
Handicraft concept storeChris Schalkx
Heritage homeware
Founded in 2013 by Azerbaijani artist and curator Aida Mahmudova, Chelebi recasts the country’s traditional arts and crafts as contemporary home decor. As part of a redesign, its showroom on the perimeter of Port Baku Mall reopened last September as a shoppable gallery for furniture, home fragrances and ceramics. In collaboration with the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art, Chelebi reinterprets heritage materials and techniques into high-design homeware: ceramic plates and cups take inspiration from the frescoes in the 18th-century summer residence of the Shaki Khans, while the whimsical works of the late Azerbaijani painter Rasim Babayev live on as woven throw blankets. The brand has also worked with Moscow- and Grasse-based perfumery Aadre on a collection of diffusers, hand soaps and scented candles with notes of juniper, oud and other ingredients inspired by folklore.
