Sunday, May 05, 2024
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will develop high-value fashionable garments using locally produced heritage fabrics to create more opportunities in the global market.
The apex RMG body will also create market exposure for the goods’ manufacturers to export the apparel easily. Jackets or other high-end products can be made from Jamdani or locally produced heritage fabrics and its production and exports will increase in the future.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan announced the vision at a press conference on the closing ceremony of the project titled “Creating High-End Fashion with Local Heritage Materials from Bangladesh” at the BGMEA Dhaka office on Wednesday
He added that 160 people received training from the BGMEA design studio.
They were trained to operate local handlooms, and one of the biggest takeaways from this training was networking. The training programme provided networking opportunities to the local weavers with the designers, academicians, and brands.
“Mainly we are working on our heritage-related items like Jamdani, Khadi, Muslin, etc. Apart from this, we are displaying various heritage and motifs of our country that we are proud of like Royal Bengal Tiger, water lily and rickshaw paintings on the clothes,” Faruque said.
The BGMEA chief said renowned designer Kuhu Plamondon is working with some of the aspiring fashion designers of 10 different factories, and another designer and Neval founder Anadil Johnson is providing training on producing high-value clothes from local heritage fabrics.
“Some good results will come from here gradually,” he added.
At the press conference, Anadil Johnson said, “We are working to unite three aspects – entrepreneurs, academicians, industries. In this regard, the networking needs to be maintained well.
“We collect Jamdani fabrics from the weavers and produce high-value apparel items through this. We also work on Monipuri and other heritage fabrics. I ask the weavers to provide Saree fabrics and I process it through our technology so that it can prevent waste,” she said.
Anadil said they are producing wedding and bridal clothes by mixing local silk and heritage fabrics. There is a significant market demand for bridal clothing worldwide, worth $62 billion annually. “We are trying to grab a significant portion from this.”
She also said they are also focusing on producing and exporting high-end lingerie, a premium luxury market segment in fashion through heritage fabrics.
According to the BGMEA, under this project, they have provided training to a total of 160 participants in eight batches.
Among the participants, 75 were from the RMG factories, 20 from BUFT, 17 from BUTEX, six from Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology, 15 from BKMEA, five from AFDB, and 19 from local weavers.
