Korkem: Branding a Kazakh Outerwear Label

The challenge: a Kazakh voice that feels modern

Korkem makes outerwear in Pavlodar — shapan jackets, vests, bags. The challenge was to give a Kazakh label a voice unmistakably Kazakh and unmistakably modern at once — a brand a woman chooses because it says something about her.

The audience made that harder: the brand speaks to two very different women — the Independent, 30 to 45, financially secure, who buys status and individuality and expects exclusive models and high service — and the Hedonist, 25 to 35, creative, seeking inspiration in fashion. One brand had to feel right to both.

The strategy: made for your inspiration

The positioning is one sentence: a maker of modern, quality products that let women express themselves and underline their individuality — unique design, quality materials, an individual approach.

The mission follows: products through which women feel more beautiful and more unique — and a social role beside it, creating jobs and growing the company.

Four values carry the platform: individuality, quality at every stage, creativity, and eco-friendliness. The archetype is Creator — bold, creative, caring, stylish, modern. The slogan is the promise: "СОЗДАНО ДЛЯ ТВОЕГО ВДОХНОВЕНИЯ" — created for your inspiration — with the descriptor: "Одежда, подчеркивающая вашу индивидуальность", clothing that underlines your individuality.

The identity: a Kazakh sign inside the O

The logo is the word KORKEM in a grotesque typeface with contrasting stroke weights. Because the name is written in Latin-Kazakh, the letter O carries a graphic element: the ethnic sign Botakez, a diamond-shaped Kazakh ornament. That sign is the whole system in miniature: out of the O comes the emblem, repeated, the pattern.

Three colors do the work: burgundy #6C1E2C, soft pink #FFB1CA and cool gray #D1D1D1, with Inter in Bold and Regular.

Repeated, the element becomes a pattern of O's and Botakez diamonds across packaging, bags and social posts.

The rollout: from the price tag to the courier's badge

The brand went everywhere a customer could meet it, led by the street-store sign system — white KORKEM on a black panel — with a mall version and an outdoor banner.

In the hand, the system is just as consistent: price tags, boxes, paper bags, staff and courier uniforms with badges, a courier car, a warranty coupon, a brand set, souvenirs, business cards, certificates, marketplace cards, the site and app icon and the social templates.

Where they are now

Today Korkem is a label with a team of 13, founded by Botagoz (@botakorkem), making its outerwear in Pavlodar. It sells through Instagram — @korkem.store.kz, 21,747 followers — and WhatsApp +77026114826, with worldwide delivery, and its jackets are stocked at NEKIEM.

The line is built around the shapan: the reversible shapan at 38,500 ₸, including the "dopamine shapan" in mandarin with figured quilting and ornament — waterproof and super light — and the Teddy shapan at 52,500 ₸ in textured Teddy fabric, warm to −5…−10 °C. The autumn SEN vests run 27,500 ₸. National motifs sit in modern everyday silhouettes.

The brand took part in the "Best Product of Kazakhstan" exhibition, launched a tennis-bag collaboration with Aviasales KZ, showed at Koktem Fest in Astana on September 26–27, 2026, and marked its birthday on October 29.

What fashion and retail brands can take from this

• Put the culture in the letterform, not in a sticker. The Botakez sign lives inside the O, so the Kazakh root is in the name itself. More in our guide to brand voice for luxury brands.
• Build the emblem to outgrow the first product. An identity drawn for a shapan also has to work on a vest, a bag, a price tag and a courier car — design the smallest element to carry the whole line. More in our guide to brand identity deliverables.
• A logo is not the brand — the system is. Customers meet Korkem on a feed, in a chat and on a shelf at NEKIEM; what they remember is the same burgundy and the same O at every touchpoint. More in our guide to brand identity vs. logo.

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