With Eid-ul-Fitr less than a month away, fashion outlets are ready with their choicest collection of designer outfits to dress up people on the big day. However, business is yet to pick up the pace, complained store-owners. With the cost of production rising, garment stores are not doing good business, said Munira Emdad, entrepreneur of Tangail Saree Kutir. Although young shoppers are passionate about local items, sales have not yet picked up significantly this year. Morsalin Bithun, proprietor and designer of Kapoor-E-Bangla, believes local manufacturers are facing unfair competition from cheaper and colourful products from India and Pakistan, which have flooded the market. “Those who prefer local designs will always buy those. However, sales won’t go up significantly before Eid,” said Golam Kibria, head of marketing of Kapoor-E-Bangla. “Yarn, fabric, and labour are getting costlier. Although business is not good, we are trying to sustain it,” he added. There are some 50,000 small and big boutiques in the country which employ around 50 lakh people directly or indirectly, said designer-entrepreneur Lipi Khandaker. Local boutiques are now coming up with new creative designs to compete with the dominating foreign products. The contribution of the boutique industry is no less than the readymade garments sector’s, but the government does not pay any attention to it, Khandaker alleged. To woo the young, tech-savvy generation, many boutique owners have now taken to e-commerce sites. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) president Shameem Ahsan told The Independent: “Shopping has got easier with e-commerce sites. You can buy things from any part of the country or even when you are out of the country.”
Latest trends
Designers are targeting customers in big cities like Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet with attractive designs. Georgette, cotton and lawn cloth are the preferred fabrics. The main shopping centres are already glittering with salwar-kameez sets for women, and panjabi-pajama sets for men. “Long kameezes are the trend this year. However, there will still be demand for the traditional short kameez. Besides, short kameezes go with jeans or cotton trousers too,” pointed out Khandaker. “The main attraction for young girls would be fusion outfits that would look like gowns. The koti will obviously be there. Women can wear these, teaming them up with salwar-kameezes and men with panjabis,” Emdad said. Morsalin Bithun, proprietor and designer of Kapoor-E-Bangla, said: “Koti has made a comeback after many years. This year’s trend is light colours on cotton. The garments are unisex; so, both men and women can wear them.” Among the premium fashion houses, Yellow is showcasing digital print on lawn cloth and three-piece outfits. These are already drawing women customers by the dozen. For men, Yellow has regular and slim-fitted panjabis, formal fitted shirts and auto-fit shirts. Other brands, like Artisti, Westec, Cats Eye, Lubnan, Richman and Ecstasy, are also recording huge footfalls, though most of it is from window-shoppers, who are checking out the latest designs.
Riot of colour
Since Eid-ul-Fitr will be held in the rainy season, designers are going for a variety of colours this year. Blue seems to be the dominating one, said designer Endad Haque. Bright colours like red and orange are also being used abundantly. Khandaker said: “Festivals draw bright colours. Magenta, yellow, blue, and green are being used the most, but cotton is the chosen fabric this year.” Muslin, ‘andi’ cotton, and half-silk are also quite popular, she added. On the other hand, the trend of using natural colours in attires is also increasing. Aronno Fashion House has made a name for itself in using natural colours. Owner Ruby Ghaznavi said there is a separate market for natural coloured dresses. “These customers don’t look at bright colours,” she pointed out. Artisti, Arong and Jatra Fashion House are also exhibiting some outfits designed with natural colours. These outfits are gaining popularity by the day, said Ghaznavi.
Pocket pinch
Here is an idea of the price tags to help you with your Eid shopping:
Sarees- Handloom: TK 400–1,975; cotton: TK 570–3,550; half silk: TK 3,200–12,000, muslin: TK 4,500-19,000, embroidered: TK 12,000–22,000; Jamdani: TK 3,500–65,000.
Three-piece suits- Cotton: TK 1,550–5,500; silk and half silk: TK 3850–11,000; general lawn: TK 2,000–5,500; yellow lawn: TK 4,000–6,000.
Panjabi- White: TK 300–8,000; printed: TK 6,000–22,000, Sherwani cut: TK 3,000–8,000; ‘andi’ cotton: TK 1,200–6,000.
For children- Three-piece suits (four to eight years): TK 790–4,500; two-piece suits: TK 500–1,200; kameez: TK 390–700; panjabi: TK 795–1,800; dresses (new-born to three-year-old): TK 150–2,200.
