Fashion editor and designer, Goutom Saha, tells us what he’s looking forward to and what he’s skeptical about in the upcoming season.
What’s ahead for us in the coming season?
Our infatuation with South Asian trends will continue. Imported ghararas will be big this season. Palazzos to pair with kameezes and tops will continue to be a top favourite. Floral prints will stay put as well. As for deshi trends, our fashion houses are working with soft jamdanis and silver jewellery.
For men, slim-fit pants and contrasting colourful sneakers and converse will be very popular this time. They will come in solid shades of maroon, blue, olive and more. Formal attire will take a back seat at workplaces and wedding dawats. The semi-formal look will be the way to go this fall.
What’s your take on embellished jamdanis?
Jamdani is a highly sophisticated fabric, primarily meant for the niche market. But there was and still is a dire need for it to go into mass production. Otherwise the weavers won’t be able to survive in the market.
Another thing is we have to remember that people’s tastes and preferences are constantly changing. So we need to experiment with traditional elements a lot more to make it interesting, just so that it garners more popularity.
Even though many people and designers will personally find it distasteful, embellished jamdanis surely have projected an increase in demand since other designers have started to experiment with them. From a commercial point of view it really has more benefits than drawbacks and it’s crucial for the survival of weavers.
New York Fashion Week will have a pair of Bangladeshi designers for the first time. Is Bangladesh ready to join the ranks of global fashion giants?
Sure, why not! But it all comes down to what kind of designs we are planning to put on the forefront. For example, designers such as Rina Latif and Bibi Russell can cause any runway to tremble any day anywhere in the world. Their designs are truly outstanding. Zurhem, a relatively new brand representing the mainstream international standards in Dhaka, is also one such label that can join the ranks of global fashion giants.
With Bangladesh sitting on the cusp between deshi attire, Bollywood attire and western styles, why are men still complaining about a lack of options?
We do have more options now and our market may seem swamped with low-priced Indian products, but it’s still hard for someone with enough suavity to pick something classy from all that garb. A number of fashion houses such as Ecstasy, O2, Noir, Yellow, Artisti, etc, and local designers like Emdad Hoque have joined the wagon of introducing cutting-edge trends in men’s fashion. But that being said, the options are still very limited. I feel as though we need more spunk to experiment with things that truly stand out of the lot.