Local fashion designs win heart of the West

International buyers of apparel items now seek innovative designs from the local suppliers and manufacturers as the demand for the fashion design of Indian subcontinent is increasing in the West, industry insiders said.

So traditional Bangladeshi designs are becoming popular in the Western countries, said the businessmen.

The businesspeople and experts said if such demand for innovative designs can be met properly, the country will get a huge advantage in the international apparel business.

Previously, Bangladesh used to produce the apparel items on the basis of designs supplied by the international buyers, which were known as 'cut and paste' designs. But, the situation is taking a shift as the taste of the Western people is also changing, the manufacturers said.

Talking to The Daily Star, an international buyer working in Bangladesh said they were adopting the local design at a slower pace. "But, we are now opting for the local designs, which was not possible previously as the customers did not like those much," the buyer said, requesting anonymity.

KM Rezaul Hasanat, chairman and managing director of Viyellatex Group, a compliant garment maker, said previously Bangladesh was not ready to develop design, but now the local manufacturers are supplying either full or part of the design.

"Now the manufacturers also set up design houses, where a team of designers develop innovative designs for the international buyers," Hasanat said.

Bangladesh is coming out from the traditional 'cut and paste' regime, said Rushmita Alam, head of the Department of Fashion Design and Technology at BGMEA Institute of Fashion & Technology (BIFT).

"Now many Bangladeshi designers are working at top positions in foreign companies. They are designing for the buyers," Rushmita said.

She said the local fashion designs have had a lot of exposure in the Western countries over the last five to seven years, thanks to the media.

Rushmita also said fashion design is a matter of teamwork as individual ideas flock together to make a design.

New fashion designers are coming up as many educational institutes are now offering courses on fashion- or design-related subjects, she said.

She said Bangladesh has advanced much in apparel manufacturing and exporting, and so the country now should develop its human resources on such sub-sectors to make the garment business more sustainable.

Selim Al-Din, a fourth year student of Design Technology at the BIFT, said the demand for local designs is increasing, but most of the designers are doing the job of developers on the designs supplied by the buyers.

"Many garment owners do not try to improve the efficiency of their designers," he said. As a result, Bangladesh is being deprived of the benefit of value addition, he added.

reefat@thedailystar.net