EID FASHION 2005
Season of colours
by Mahfuz Sadique
photo by Gmb Akash
|
Ramadan is a confusing time. Here you are supposed to keep earthly desires to a minimum, and yet the beast of the material world is licking its wounds from the lost hours of the day your spirit spends in maintaining status quo on that tricky term: abstinence. For those who have found that ever-elusive balance between pleasing this and the other world, Eid is going to bring colour and cadence to your heart and attire.
‘It is going to be a colourful Eid!’ declares Emdad Haque of Banglar Mela, who is credited as being a trend-setting designer. I couldn’t agree more. After taking a close look at this season’s crop of major labels, then losing half of the notes, and finally secretly flipping through the pages of Eid fashion issues of reputed magazines of the country, to get a flashback, I am confident in saying that a riot of colours is going to ensue on the attires, and also the windows they shall adorn. With every colour under the sun emblazoned on ladies’ kameez and men’s punjabis, Haque also points to another specific aspect of this Eid. ‘An Autumn-flavour will breeze over the dresses this season. It is a beautiful season. It’s not winter, but the weather will assume a cosy feel which suits a more free-style designer mindset,’ explains Haque, whose line Banglar Mela has brought quite a few innovative designs to the market over the years. Last year they had brought out Jeans’ punjabis, which instantly caught up with the imagination of young men.
But as far as winning accolades, and also getting one of the biggest cut of the seasonal dress market, Kay Kraft has outdone most, if not all. Having won several prestigious awards for their Eid collection, they seem unstoppable. Most mentionable is their consecutive third win in as many years at the Shaptahik 2000 Eid Fashion Contest, including this Eid. And Khaled Mahmud of Kay Kraft is quite enthusiastic about his line up for Eid. ‘As usual, we have used a lot of indigenous woven material. And this time bright colour contrasts would be one of the main features of most collections’, Mahmud elaborates. He pointed out, as did Haque too, that Endi silk and cotton would be two of the major crowd pullers at this Eid’s fabrics of choice.
And in terms of patterns, both designers, along with those at some major houses have confirmed that stripes are going to be the ‘thing’ for this season. Two-tone fabric, which Prabartana has a specialty in making, will be another ‘in’ item. As seen in recent times, fabric with tie-die colouring would still be popular. And don’t give me a ‘not again’ sigh as I tell you that print is still around, and they are still being cleared out of shelves like hotcake. And as with classic choices, embroidery is still that vintage touch you wouldn’t want to miss. Khaled Mahmud also pointed that ‘check’ had also earned a permanent place in people’s heart, and so it would also take up a good chunk of the fabrics used. And in terms of fabric used, he pointed out an interesting insider insight.
‘Silk has got expensive this year, and there are many reasons behind this. One of them is the role played by importers. So this season, the price of silk material will be higher than usual’, says Mahmud. In fact that is one of the reasons why, keeping in mind the burden put on customers by spiralling costs, many lines have used a lot of Endi silk to compensate.
Another aspect that several designers mentioned is the variations in cuts that could be expected. Both Haque and Mahmud mentioned that sleeveless, and some new variations of cut like Holter-cut or drop-shoulder would make ladies’ kameez take new looks. While some of this change can be attributed to attitude change and changing fashion tastes, the other factor for this change is the season.
As for Punjabis, short ones like those worn in the sixties have been making a come back in the last year or two. And this Eid, the preference would reach its full-moon. While younger men are still more inclined towards long-punjabis, their interest in short ones have swung right to the other extreme. ‘They are more into ultra-short punjabis (don’t wear that blank look, please. I am lost too!),’ says Haque of Banglar Mela. As for the craze with Fatuas, it is here to stay, at least for this Eid. And expect, as one designer put it, ‘shocking colours!’
Though winter would not be setting in during Eid, some punjabis have shawls to match, but quite a few uttorios accompanying.
Talking of colours, the major colours to dominate are going to variations of red (majenta, reddish-feroza, orange-red), blue, emerald-green, turquoise, chocolate, purple, hot pink.
Finally, to the queen of the Eid season: saris. Having mentioned the dominant colours, saris will still be occupied the vintage fabrics of use, namely zorjet, shiffon, and off course our very own zamdani. And having seen so many gorgeous saris both at the designer’s and now on the pages, I feel sorry for those men who are dragged to the Eid shopping sessions with their better half. Beware! This season’s saris are really good.
Some interesting observations were that women might just go big for long skirts and fatua, as the season is comfortable for such a choice. When it comes to accessories, terracotta, beads, silver, plastic, metal have been used a lot.
In addition to local fashion lines, Indian designer lines, for example, Satya Pal saris at Shopper’s World are quite the craze during Eid these days. ‘They attract a huge old Dhaka crowd, and off course the well-to-do buyers in general,’ says Emdad Haque. Even if not buying there, observe the long line of sparkling, brand new cars outside Shopper’s World in Gulshan grow with every passing midnight of Ramadan. Quite a sight!
But as the night sky eats away at the moon, and by month’s end it is as sharp as the sickle the farmer uses to cut his harvest, you might as well just remind yourself how he and his family celebrates Eid. Maybe a new piece of cloth, but his humble house is not devoid of the reason why we celebrate Eid — the joy of life!
Preparations for the fiesta
photo by Naeem Huque
|
Eid has changed over the years. To the majority middle-class, especially urban ones, the shopping for Eid clothes for many years meant waiting till mid-Ramadan, and then rummage through the shops for hours on end for consecutive days till Eid finally came. The result was hasty choices, and the eventual grumpy moods. But things have changed over the past few years. With Eid fashion catalogues, exhibitions, shows, and other tickers to lead the consumers to the ‘real deal.’
As the year closes in to the Eid, it is time to look back on the numerous happenings that have dotted the fashion scene. The preparations for the festive season were bigger, brighter, and louder this year. The air is filled with news on design contests, collection launches, and product displays. The last two weeks before Ramadan has been packed with activities in the industry. Inauguration of several new boutique houses in the city has spiced up the scene as well.
Eid Fashion Contest by Nilanjona Palli and Anandabhuban was based on dresses made of Bangladeshi fabric. The traditional Jamdani was much highlighted here. Adriot Collection won the ‘Best Fashion House’ award winning highest number of entries and awards with their Eid collection. It primarily focuses on autumn, or as we call the season in Bangla — Shorot. Sparsely clouded blue sky, water lilies in full blossom, etc. are the symbol of autumn, which also provide inspiration for the collection.
Introducing a collection formally was not something the audiences in Dhaka were oriented to. Cats Eye pioneered this aspect of a full-fledged launch ceremony. The guests were greeted with unconventional display of the collection, before the models emerged on the catwalk adorned with the attires. Nine queues carried men’s wear starting from trendy casuals to formal sherwanis. The entire Cats Eye collection carried the hallmark of their identity, and so did the collections from Monsoon Rain, and Unlimited. Innovative little details on the collar and the cuff made them unique and appreciable. Popular singer Habib was introduced as their first brand ambassador at the launch ceremony.
Kay Kraft also introduced their Eid collection in a ceremonial fashion. They effectively blended different materials, keeping their essence intact, while creating a successful line. Their most appreciable gesture is their relentless thrive to support the diminishing handloom industry in the country. On their completion of 12 years they organized an exhibition ‘Handloom Art of Bangladesh’, where they brought together weavers from the different parts of the country. The fabrics displayed in the exhibition are all part of their Eid collection. By bringing such diversification into focus they want to address the issue that deshi fabric does not only mean one fixed kind of fabric. Variation is quite possible, and even more so with locally woven fabrics.
As they did in the previous years, Shaptahik 2000 also organized a fashion contest where all the renowned, as well as up-and-coming, fashion houses in the country participated. The dresses were grouped according to their prices. Jatra and Kay Kraft are two names, which appeared a bit more than the others. The winning outfits and their details are being featured in the fashion edition of the magazine. The issue came out on the stands from 30th September, to give the people a scope to surf and sort what they want for the Eid shopping season.
Annyadin has been hosting another annual fashion contest since 1998. This year their contest was followed by an elaborate award function. Bibi Russel was awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for playing an integral role in the fashion industry of the country. Kay Kraft was chosen to be ‘The Best Fashion House of the Year’ among the participants of the contest.
And for the forth year running, Slate Magazine will bring out a veritable compilation of the ‘best of the best’ in Slate Style.
The Eid collections are already gracing the display units of your favorite stores. So stuff your wallets and get out on the streets now, before stocks start running out.
Happy Shopping!
— Ankan Siddiquee
 Top | Xtra
|
Also
|
