Once inside their store, I met the two beautiful sisters – Sahar and Amana, talking happily with the customers, suggesting colours and silhouettes that best suit them. Being absolutely elegant and trendy themselves, they’d effortlessly be able to persuade you to buy that gown you thought would never look good on you – in fact, they’d also give you pointers on how to own the look and flaunt it!
“Styling comes very naturally to us,” admits Sahar as I interview her. “Amana and I have grown up seeing our immensely fashionable parents gathering honours from our loved ones for their exceptional sense of styling.”
Going through the countless number of designs on display at their boutique shop, I couldn’t help but wonder where all the motivation and creativity transpired from.
“This is all natural for both of us! Amana and I realized at a very young age that we both had a knack for designing,” says Sahar, immediately beaming up when asked about the inspiration behind this. “I designed my first kameez when I was only 12 - I used to pair up kameezes with capri pants - and the rest is history.”
“All our friends and family kept on praising the designs we came up with over the years that followed. Thanks to them and their continuous support, we’ve been able to come so far, opening a store and taking part in exclusive, international standard fashion shows,” added Amana.
When asked how they perceive Sahar Rahman Couture as a brand, the sisters went on to say “It’s amazing how word of mouth and social media have helped us so much. There’s so many people who know about us and approach us now – and that’s exactly what we aimed for. Our primary goal was to create a proper designer label in terms of customization and giving the clients a proper boutique experience. So now, we feel that we’re catering to a diverse clientèle - starting with our casual line for work/office, then we have our luxury pret line for young girls and we have our evening wear, which is one of our most popular lines.”
With a monumental colour palette ranging from shades like rosewood, watermelon, flamingo and taffy, she is sure to have the exact shade you desire.
“However, the most challenging aspect has been getting people around us used to our colour palette. We come from a family who love wearing light, soothing and breezy colours – but when we started out, people around us were more inclined towards more vibrant and flamboyant colours like fuchsia, red and yellow. So getting people introduced to such a light colour palette was quite a challenge back then. Over time, people started having faith in us and accepting those colours on themselves,” says Sahar, while discussing the challenges they faced initially.
“Also, when we entered the market, few of our senior brands were ruling the industry and these are the ones which have been there in the business for more than 20 years. Getting into that market and getting that clientèle introduced to our colours and designs was definitely a challenge,” added Amana.
Naturally, I had to ask them about the new wedding line that they’ve introduced this year. “Bridal has always been our forte. That’s what Amana and I always wanted to do. Of course, opening a store means providing a variety of designs so that you can cater to everyone, but bridal was something which was so lacking in Bangladesh at that time, and by that I mean in terms of proper customization,” informs Sahar.
“I feel like when it comes to wedding and couture, Amana and I can do so much. That’s exactly where we can display our intricate work and detailing. So while working on our new wedding collection this year, we realized that we definitely cater to more Engagement and Reception brides with our intricate workmanship and pastel colours. For weddings, most brides want to hold on to that traditional classic red. So this time, we focused more on the Walima and Engagement brides,” she concedes.
“Since we’d already done a few red and gold brides in our previous line, we decided to go for our signature pastel and angelic colours this year. For the Holud brides this year, we have something special – we did a Q&A session with our followers on Instagram and they all really wanted to see a bright colour palette this time. So we experimented with a very tricky range of colours this year. I believe colours have various shades to them, so we decided to play with them and came up with a unique palette for the Holud brides this year. For this particular series, our followers were our biggest inpiration,” adds Amana.
“Bridal couture is all about customization, and the first thing we look into when designing an outfit is our client’s budget. I feel that’s the most significant factor to consider and start our conversation with, so that the client knows there’s a way to work things around that. We always seek recommendations from our clients and what they have in mind, when it comes to colours, motifs and designs,” the sisters went on to say while discussing the most important factors while designing an outfit.
According to Sahar, there is a common perception among Bangladeshis that products from India are better than the local ones. “It really saddens me that people are willing to go to India, thinking that they’re going to get cheaper outfits there! People go to India all the time to shop but why should we spend our money there, when the local market has international quality items?” elaborated Sahar.
Emerging among the thriving bunch of boutique shops and designers that have already been there for more than 20 years, what really makes Sahar and her sister Amana stand out from so many other newcomers is the delicacy and honesty they bring to their vision of femininity.
“Our workmanship and colour palette are extremely unique. When the entire country was obsessed with bright colours, we introduced muted pastels like ash rose and sea green to them! In fact every season, we introduce a new colour palette and we’re always experimenting. Our intricate designing, quality of fabric, unique cuts and finesse in embroidery are definitely the things that set us apart,” said Amana.
Sahar and Amana have already extended their boutique line to include regular day wear and semi formals besides the couture line. However, that's not all, as their new line of designer khussas are simply magical and perfectly matches their couture collection. Monroé started off in 2017 and till date is the first and only designer footwear in Bangladesh.
“Monroé has been the best decision in our lives and this is a venture that we share with my best friend, Badria Anis. We’re so proud that all of it is completely made in Bangladesh,” informed Sahar.
