Going retro in fashion
Dr Vandana Bhandari
Sometimes even traditional fashion designs can be surprisingly successful if it can be highlighted properly to the right customers, at the right time and in the right places.
Dr Vandana Bhandari, a professor at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in New Delhi, India, says Bangladesh can start promoting and marketing its traditional designs, as the country is not well-equipped at the moment to produce world-class designs by itself. The country is dominating the global RMG business with its fine apparel items, though.
At present, the international buyers provide the designs, which are popularly known as 'cut-and-paste' designs.
The design of a product is not only a fundamental aspect but also creates value addition. In today's era of fashion-conscious populations and razor-sharp competition, the design of a product is what makes or breaks the deal, says Bhandari.
"The world is in a race against time to capture the essence of people in fashion designing through value addition, and ultimately profit from it,” she adds.
"Value addition is not about making the garment more expensive; it is about adding elements of interest and uniqueness to the garment, within the dimensions of the same price tag. Design often consists of putting together standard, known routines in a way to deliver a new value," Bhandari says.
Recently, Bhandari visited Dhaka to deliver a speech at an international seminar on "Value Addition Through Fashion Design" at the 19th Batexpo at Sonargaon Hotel.
The Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (Batexpo) is an annual exposition of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). This year, BGMEA hosted the event from November 6 to November 8 to showcase the local apparel products and accessories.
On the sidelines of Batexpo, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, Bhandari says there is a misconception that designs are only applicable to high-end apparel products. A simple product can be made to look smart and sophisticated via designs. "Ideas and creativity are all that are needed to revamp a bland product."
Apparel factory owners should spend more money and time on the creation of designs and marketing their products appropriately. The design of a product should be treated like any other input to the final product, she says.
It is a pre-requisite that designers travel a lot, for exposure to contemporary and old designs of different countries, areas or communities, Bhandari says.
Design processes start from broad trends and research on trends and forecasts, compilation of data and presenting final ranges, preparation of technical packs and sample development, she says.
"Each level of the market is design driven and the leaders often pioneer innovation in fibre, fabric colour, silhouette, and detail in the business. Forecasting is the key to anticipating future developments by watching for signals of change in current situation and events and supplying the forecasting frameworks to predict possible outcomes," she quotes Brannon.
The value chain defined through production stages in the textiles and apparel segment can broadly be divided into five categories, including fibre to yarn, yarn to fibre by weaving/knitting, dyeing, printing finishing of fabrics, cutting of fabrics into clothing parts and assembly of garments with trims, Bhandari says.
Bhandari says, in India, a lot of designs originated from traditional customs of different communities, which later got popular among both local and international customers.
Establishing educational institutes related to fashion and design is important because designing is a sophisticated profession; it needs a lot of learning -- both theoretical and practical. "Fashion designing should not be confined to theory,” she argues.
Bhandari lauded the initiatives of BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT) for making a university where students will enjoy wider scope for learning and practicing fashion and design. Recently, BIFT has applied to the Ministry of Education for turning the institute to a full-fledged university.
Moreover, BIFT and the London College of Fashion (LCF) recently signed an agreement in Dhaka, to exchange expertise for cultivating more human resources in the line of fashion designing in Bangladesh.
Bhandari says fashion designing should have an international outlook and be delicately intertwined with business activities.
About NIFT, Bhandari said that 1,200 people graduate from the institute a year and it has 12 centres all over India. Institutions and fashion houses snatch graduates from this university, offering high compensation packages. This is because demand for such graduates is high in India."
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