Bangladesh increasing a reputation for fashion

Many of the world's biggest successful brands are turning to Bangladesh as a quality, trusted producer of high-end fashion.

Personally, I found Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque report from Dhaka veeeery insightful and interesting. It illustrates just how Al Jazeera news is open to the beauty in a world that is beyond the Western version of what fashion and beauty are, and certainly sets itself apart from the relatively narrow reporting by the BBC, Fox News and others.

With Aarong Bangladeshi Fashion House also playing the role of protector and promoter of traditional Bangladeshi products and designs. It houses an extensive design library where remnants of that famous rich craft heritage, such as the lovely Nakshikantha art and Jamdani patterns, have been widely researched and archived for present as well as future use.

Models have been strutting the catwalks recently for London and Milan Fashion Week, but many of the world's biggest brands are turning to Bangladesh for cheaper fashion trends, whose quality far exceeds how much they are truly worth.

The nation of Bangladesh, also bordered by Burma and India on all sides, is earning a growing reputation as a quality producer of high-end fashion for export.

I'd pay more if I knew the money went to the working knitters and designers.

I certainly don't agree with the view that what's going on in Bangladesh is "a case of whites exploiting the poor brown people, and is nothing new." 

This is actually the best way in which talented Designers can get to showcase their talent and make useful contacts with fashion entrepreneurs around the world. The Fashion and Textile Industries are about who you know as much as it's about what you know - and to dismiss and discourage this kind of collaboration will be nothing more than ignorance or just pure jealous sabotage.

Watch the Video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAQlCAB-S5Q

With numerous rising icons within the Bangladesh Fashion industry, like the great Bibi Russell- who has almost single-handedly put Bangladesh on the global fashion map, especially the Western world. Her inspirational commitment to the development, expansion and welfare of Bangladeshi weavers and support for the skilled traditional crafts has been acclaimed and appreciated world wide.

There is even going to be a British Bangladesh Fashion Week (BBFW) 2012, which will be scheduled from 11th to 13th October 2012, highly anticipated and aimed at celebrating and promoting beautiful and innovative Bangladeshi fashion textiles, arts and culture- further campaigning the relationship between the UK and the country of Bangladesh.
This intriguing event in the East London region will showcase the vibrant and colourful talent of designers and share a Bangladeshi heritage. It promises an eclectic mix of traditional and modern designs. See the link below:

http://www.britishbangladeshfashionweek.com/

Philosophy in Fashion Matters!

#FashionPhilosophy - A true Fashion Entrepreneur not only responds to the location in both climatic and cultural terms, but also seek to reconcile the traditional with the modern! By Tatenda Chimene (pictured below in Zulu traditional attire)

https://twitter.com/TMCHIMENE

“Oh, never mind the fashion. When one has a style of one's own, it is always 20 times better.” ― by Margaret Oliphant

Zimbabwe Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013: Best Looks from Designer Colin Ratisai

Best of African, rising Fashion entrepreneurs - Designer Colin Ratisai

I found Colins designs this time round rather interesting. Trying to bring yourself closer to nature as a Fashion Designer  will obviously win you more points with Greenpeace and the Green Political Party. Truth be told; everything we wear as clothing today depends on plants somewhere along the food chain. Even if you incude the likes of animal skin into the equation; that animal may have eaten plant material or instead, ate the herbivores that do.

While other examples are very obvious to spot. The world famous Cotton is spun from the fibres attached to the seeds of the cotton plant. Lovely Linen is made from the finely woven fibres of the stems of the flax plant.

Having said that, some are not so obvious to detect. Silk comes from silk worms, which aren't plants. But all silk experts know that silk worms eat only the leaves of the white mulberry tree and without this plant, the silk industry would not exist- FULLSTOP.

To top up my point - you only have to glance once at a field of cows or sheep grazing on lush, green grass to find the source of wool and leather in their midst! This is what Colin had to say about his work:

“I’m inspired by nature so my surroundings play a very significant role in my designs. If I change my setting, it will definitely reflect in the designs. I am also inspired by individual characters and personalities. . .” Colin Ratisai

Colin understands the importance of plants in the fashion world and saw the need to provide a visual tribute using these innovative designs. Just imaging a world without plants in general, it just won't survive, even if one wanted to rely on man-made fibres. That is, fabrics such as acrylic and fragile polyester are made from complex processes that have crude oil as a raw material. It's essential to point out that Crude oil is formed from the compression over thousand and millions of years of tiny marine animals, plankton and plants!

Plants have also undoubtedly played an important role in the colour and design of fabric materials. Blue jeans owe their colour to a lovely plant called indigo, and fabric designers from Laura Ashley, Alexander McQueen to Orla Kiely and Kenzo have used plants as inspiration for their exquisite work.

COLIN RATISAI

See more on - http://stanleyrawfashion.blogspot.co.uk/

Harare, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean fashion designer extraordinaire, Colin Ratisai, whose label is known as CZeerat, made a debut appearance at the Africa Fashion Week held in Johannesburg in October. 

http://ziviso.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/colin-ratisai-a-journey-into-fashion/