March 17, 2009
September 24, 2008
Boutique House: Nillajon Polli
Saris in suta katan are range from Tk 3,500 to Tk 20,000, Net katan and tissue katan between Tk 5000-15000, hand embroidered muslin katan starting from Tk 15000. Katan shalwar kamiz are available between Tk 4000-15000.
Men can chose from their selection of jamdani and cotton pajanbi, hand and machine embroidered within Tk 2500.
Boutique House: Aranya
Aranya is pleased to announce its exciting Eid Collection in a range of natural colours, now in-store! Witness the revival of beautiful Jamdani from museum collections abroad, traditional Kantha saris with patterns derived exclusively from traditional Kanthas in new colour palettes and limited edition hand block printed saris, combined with hand designed aanchals in silk with an extensive range of weaves and prints in silk, tussar, crepe and endi cotton blends, and accessories in new prints, weaves, textures and embroideries. Select your own Eid specials while stock lasts.
The past decade has seen innumerable changes in and around Dhaka city, one of them being the sudden upsurge in the number of boutiques and fashion houses mushrooming in every nook and cranny. While most fashion houses drown in a sea of mediocrity, Aranya is a boutique with a difference. Over the years it has created a niche of its own, and have held the patrons in an enchanted rapture.
Aranya's journey started with the objective to revive the traditional skills of Bangladeshi weavers and artisans that were fizzling out with the passing of time. Through extensive use of indigenous raw materials, Aranya has played a role in creating job opportunities for many weavers who were slowly going out of business. Ruby Ghuznavi, Managing Director of Aranya Crafts Ltd, believes that if these indigenous fabrics and other raw materials can be popularised for extensive use by the masses, the employment sector of our economy can be boosted to a great extent.
In this era and age of synthetic and chemical dyes, Aranya has set itself in an altogether different pedestal, with its contribution to the revival of natural dyes through its indefatigable efforts spanning the past 26 years. With in-depth research, a wide palette of 30 colour-fast natural dyes have already been established, which includes different vibrant shades of blue, green, brown, purple, red and more. Contrary to popular myths that natural dyes are dull and faded, Aranya has made available beautiful traditional attires in lively colours suitable for both day wear and evening wear.
Yet another misconception is that natural dyes are not colourfast; they fade away within a few washes. “Any fabric will lose its brightness if you don't handle it the way it is supposed to be handled,” says Ruby Ghuznavi. “Washing with harsh detergents and exposure to scorching sunshine will take away the vibrancy from any fabric. But if you take proper care in washing the clothes a little delicately, natural dyes are just as colourfast as any chemical dye.”
When it comes to fashion, Aranya prefers sticking to classic styles rather than following the trend, because craft development is their main priority. Restoring the pristine beauty of Bangladeshi craft and designs is given more importance than incorporating modern adaptations. Aranya, interestingly, does not have one individual designer. Rather, their designs are products of teamwork, and can come from anyone in the organization.
Recently, Aranya has revived two Jamdanis, one that had been stored in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK and the second one acquired from an ardent Japanese collector. “The process was a long one, but well worth it” Ruby Ghuznavi opines. According to her, Jamdanis are too precious to meddle with, so she prefers keeping the designs intact and does not allow any alterations to the original motifs. However, Kantha saris are sometimes given a slight modification in the designs, but the inspirations are always drawn from old designs. “An old Kantha sari may have beautiful kolka motifs in the border, so we sometimes incorporate the kolka motifs in the aanchal to magnify its beauty.”
With its strong commitment to quality maintenance, Aranya has won the hearts of customers home and abroad. Recently, Aranya is working on some orders placed by the Taj Hotel of India. Aranya is considering this to be a breakthrough since it is already interested in exporting its products to the huge market that exists in India. Aranya Crafts Ltd. also has a training centre where interested learners are trained in the crafts of dyeing and weaving. Eager learners have already come from Bhutan, Pakistan and the UK to receive training, while Aranya has arranged training workshops in countries like Malaysia, Turkey, UK and India. Expatriate Bangladeshis are also major buyers of Aranya's products.
The apprehensions that were raised about commercial viability of natural dyes when Aranya started out have gradually been smoothed out. Aranya is now a recognized brand name and has been lauded for its undiminished determination to the revival and maintenance of Bangladeshi crafts. Ruby Ghuznavi, however, shares some of this appreciation with the media. “The continued support that we have received from the media should definitely be recognized. Media has always played a proactive role in reviving the craft sector of our country, and the assistance has been unprecedented.”
Faced against the continuous evolution of the Dhaka fashion scene and the ever-changing tastes of the customers combined with their hunger for uniqueness and variety, Aranya continues to follow its very own trend and wow its customers with its unique creations. Our country, being a reservoir for some of the finest skilled craftsmen and weavers producing delicate weaves of world class quality, holds vast opportunities to experiment with and create work that could only be called sheer genius; and Aranya is doing just that. It continues to be in a league of its own.
Address:
Aranya, 60 Kemal Attaturk Avenue, Banani.
(By Wasia Mehnaz Minna, Photo Courtesy: Aranya)
Collected From The Daily Star
Boutique House: Labonno
The shalwar kamiz are made in bold cuts and the creative designs of the neckline would add the extra something everyone craves during Eid. Skilful work in karchupi, sequins, mirror, block and hand embroidery sets the designs apart. There has been a predominant use of cotton, to make the prices more attractive to the consumers.
Predominantly in bright colours, the men's wear consisting of panjabi and fatua, speak of youthfulness. Common materials like cotton and khadi have been revamped to create trendy outfits. Besides, exclusive party wear are available in silk and half silk.
Showroom Addresses:
- 308 Plaza A.R. Mirpur Road, Dhaka and
- 100/B, Shukrabad, Mirpur Road, Dhaka. Tel# 01819220479
Boutique House: Bangla
Eid and Puja are two of the major religious festivals that are fervently celebrated every year in Bangladesh. This year, the celebrations are to be extra special with Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja almost overlapping, with only a matter of a few days in between.
Which is why, Bangal decides to go that extra mile to make this holiday as unique as possible. This year, their collection constitutes of three-piece kamiz suits, fatuas and panjabi with exclusive handloom textiles from Narsinghdi, Shirajganj and Comilla. Also available is a collection of hand painted panjabi and kamiz.
The three-piece suits are available at Tk 850-Tk 2500; ladies fatua at Tk 300-Tk 1200; men's fatua at Tk 250-Tk 900; panjabi at Tk 4500-Tk 1500 and T-shirts at Tk 150- Tk 500.
Boutique House: Nipun
For long 35 years, Nipun has served the fashionistas of the country. The connoisseurs are aware of Nipun's contribution towards promoting traditional looms and crafts. The collections have not only featured seasonal variations but also highlighted the festivities surrounding our lives.
This Eid, the motifs have been influenced from Europe, Asia and Islamic Arabia. Intricate works of hand block prints, screen print, embroidery, karchupi, and sequins will please the clientele, as they have in the past.
Addresses:
- 38, free school street kathal bagan, dhaka.
- 23/a, free school street, panthapath.
- Husain plaza, H#1, R#12, dhanmondi.
- Adel plaza, 1/1 mirpur road, lalmatia.
- 500/a, R#8, dhanmondi.
- Hair street, wari.
- West jinda bazar, sylhet.
Boutique House: O2
GOing truly diverse, has launched an exquisite collection of saris along with their regular line of women's and men's wear. Designed by Supratik Sen from India, “Kalpana - the dream evoked collection” is a mixture of classic sophistication and modern uniqueness.
Saris in the “Kalpana” collection have been done in silks, crepes and georgette and fabrics hailing from as far as Surat, India. Ranging in colours from aristocratic reds and blacks to shocking pinks and ultramarine blues, these Saris go against the so hyped up trend of simplicity and make a bold fashion statement with heavy embellishments. The very in fabric when it comes to saris, Muslin has been consciously left out to keep the collection atypical.
The zameen of the saris have been embellished with hand blocked motifs, embroidery and sequins. Some saris have been custom dyed with bright colours to make them stand out in any party. Pieces of Katan have been patched together to create borders alongside zari and lace. Moreover, contrasting colours of velvet used both as strips for borders and as appliqué has given a new dimension to hand embellishments. Jute cotton has also been used as a unique embellishment. Another very in thing used in this collection is netting in the aanchals. Every sari has been hand worked to create a very unique one of a kind piece.
The collection also has some custom-made exclusive shalwar kamiz sets that are set apart in their use of colour combinations and fabrics.
The great thing about the “Kalpana” collection is that no two pieces are alike and even the similar pieces have their own uniqueness differentiated with either colour or embellishment. The amount of work that went into per sari is mind blowing thus justifying the price range for the collection. Prices for the saris range from Tk 3, 500 to Tk 30, 000 and the shalwar kamiz sets are available from Tk 1, 500 to Tk 10, 000.
Apart from his collection Supratik has also collaborated with Goutam Saha for saris and anarkalis. Saris in this collection have used a lot of glass nylon and mixed polyester giving the saris a very fragile, demure and sophisticated look. Anarkalis have been done in soft shades of pinks, blues and greens with detailed embroideries of katan, Brocade and block. The katan and gold embroideries have been antiqued to evoke a sense of romanticism of the bygone era of the days when anarkalis originated.
As usual O2 also has one of the best collections of men's wear out for Eid. Taking traditional designs to the next level are O2's short panjabis and kurtas. They range from plain white with minimal design details in black and white to really gorgeously embroidered and sequined dark coloured ones. Colours range from black, chocolate, deep crimson and blues. Regular panjabis are done in mostly white with some other light colours like pinks and blues.
O2 has also launched their footwear for both men and women. The line of women footwear has already grabbed the attention of the crowd. Range from very traditional straps to modern ones men's line is also not falling behind.
So make sure to go and browse at O2's outlet in Banani, Road 12 and whether you are shopping for yourself or someone else, you will be sure to find something irresistibly unique, different and sophisticated.
Address:
Banani, Road 12, Dhaka.