*Meet two rising stars making their mark in the world of fashion
Tawsif Al-Mehran and Tamanna Hayder are two young Bangladeshi designers who began their journey studying fashion design and fashion technology at university in Bangladesh.
Tamanna’s steady hand with sketching tools and needles gave her an edge over her peers. Tawsif had a chance to mingle his two passions, metal music and art, and was rewarded for it with academic excellence for his creative endeavors.
Their journey diverged when Tamanna got a scholarship to NIFT in India and Tawsif worked as a professional designer in Dhaka. Their paths re-converged again when they were offered a course at Wuhan Textile University for postgraduate studies in fashion.
They have co-set up a label called Intrinsic Allusion that focuses on sustainable and ethnic materials. It is important to both of them that their work is eco-friendly and traditional.
Following this success, Tamanna was chosen as one of the 12 finalists chosen for the Łódź Young Fashion Award 2018 in Poland and Tawsif’s collection, Regenerate, put him on the list of finalists for The International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institute (IFFTI ), 2018, held in Shanghai.
The collection Tamanna submitted included Bangladeshi handloom fabrics, saree, and kantha using eco-friendly materials and high ethnic value. Regenerate involves fusing traditional Mongolian, and Bangladeshi elements using waste denim, and waste sweaters.
Tawsif can be recognised on the streets of Wuhan by his killer sneakers, leather backpacks, and at least an article of metal music related clothing. Tamanna can be picked out in a crowd by the perfection of her work – she insists on stitching herself.
It is inspiring to learn about people following their hearts in a line of work that is not valued in Bangladesh amidst the traditional subjects.
Tamanna is now a fashion designer and professional stylist based in Dhaka. Tawsif Al Mehran is currently involved with art and design project and working as a project coordinator in Wuhan.
It is remarkable for such young souls to have already made it so far but it goes to show how when you have a passion for something, you are sure to get noticed. When you have a talent combined with a passion, you are unstoppable.