Since the beginning of the 2025–2026 academic year, the staff and students of the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Aktau have been celebrating “National Clothing Day” every Friday. On this day, they wear elements of traditional national clothing together with their everyday outfits.

The initiative was launched by the school’s student affairs department in September. The main goal of the event is to introduce the wearing of Kazakh national clothing into modern life and style, increase children’s interest and appreciation for traditional clothing, and create a fashion trend around it.

According to the school’s teacher-curators, at first it required constant reminders. Later, both staff and students got used to the idea and began coming to school wearing kazhekey, beshpent, kamzol, and taqiya. The girls also made it fashionable to wear earrings, shekelik, and the traditional hair ornament shashbau.

— After hearing about this tradition, the parents of the 7th grade students were inspired and had kazhekey garments made for the whole class. Now every Friday our students wear kazhekey in their own style, — says Aigerim Kuanhankyzy, a 7 “A” grade student and the leader of the “Bozzhyra” shanyrak group.

In addition, the school community organizes activities related to Kazakh proverbs and sayings on this day. Sometimes they hold activity games, sometimes competitions between classes, and other times students learn new proverbs and sayings. The Intellectual School notes that this should not be seen as something unusual, but rather as something normal.