Mariyé is a name that implies adaptability, straightforwardness, and loyalty. The name perfectly fits the image of a newly married bride who is ready to take on the challenges of her new life. The masterminds behind this exclusive clothing brand are two sisters, Sumaiya and Nusaiba Islam. One is the creative force of Mariyé while the other is the fuel that drives the brand forward.
In a conversation with ICE Today, Sumaiya and Nusaiba Islam elaborates on the inception of Mariyé and the factors that set it apart from its peers
FROM CONCEPTUALIZATION TO EXECUTION, HOW HAS THE JOURNEY BEEN?
Nusaiba: Growing up, I always had a fascination towards clothes and how it can change a person’s overall outlook and confidence. I have a creative mind have always been attracted to art. I used to love colouring my textbooks in school and doodling during my study time. But I was never really allowed to quench my creative thirst and was always urged to follow typical social trends. After the completion of my bachelors, I was instructed to pursue corporate jobs which I obeyed. However, I always felt I was out of place which took me back to doing the same thing as I used to do as a child – sketching! Eventually, at one point I decided to stop forcing myself and gathered the courage to pursue entrepreneurship and estabilished Mariyé .
Sumaiya: Upon graduating from university, I began working at marketing agencies. I helped many brands market their products and build their brand identity from which I realised that I am very much in love with this industry. But working for someone else was never my goal. So, I thought why not help my sister, who is so passionate about building this brand, to achieve her dream and make it into a reality!
MARIYÉ SPECIALIZES IN BESPOKE BRIDALS, LUXURY FORMALS AND SEMI-FORMALS. WHAT FACTORS MOTIVATED YOU TO FOCUS ON THE SEGMENTS INSTEAD OF APPEALING TO A WIDER AUDIENCE?
While growing up, we were quite fascinated with beautiful brides wearing gorgeous ensembles, floral buns with hands full of henna. We believe that having a perfect wedding is every girl’s dream, a time when the bride begins a brand-new chapter of her life. We wanted to create a label where a bride can feel beautiful, confident, and special. Nothing is more satisfying than being able to be a part of the beautiful transition journey a girl takes on her wedding day. In addition to that, a lot of the times we see brides to struggling to find the right wedding outfit to wear on their big day, hence they choose to cross national borders in order to shop for their wedding.
This is predominantly why we decided to focus on the bridal segment as the starting line for Mariyé. After we decided to cater for this market segment, we also decided to bring out an additional line of luxury formal and semi-formal clothing for the bridemaids.
WHAT MAKES YOUR DESIGNS UNIQUE AND WHAT ARE THE FACTORS MAKE YOUR BRAND SET APART?
The thing that makes our designs unique is that every collection tells a story. While designing we take inspiration from the arts and culture of the ancient times for our motifs. We try to emphasize on keeping our designs traditional with slight touches of modernity.
YOU HAVE RECENTLY INTRODUCED A NEW EID COLLECTION 2021 ‘IZNIK’. WHAT MAKES IZNIK SO SPECIAL?
As the name suggests, this collection epitomizes the Ottoman Empire’s artistic creations dating back to the 15th century. Iznik is a form of decorative ceramic which was originally produced during the Ottoman era in Istanbul. The patterns and structures of the motifs used in this collection are inspired by Iznik Pottery Designs. The colour palette chosen for this collection represents the bright, vibrant summer with hues of aqua blue, mint green, orange, pink and yellow. Two kinds of luxury fabrics, Muslin and Silk were the used to create this collection.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE SECTOR EVOLVING OVER THE NEXT DECADE? WHAT ROLE DOES MARIYÉ WANT TO PLAY IN IT?
The fashion industry has developed at such a rapid pace that Mariyé was beyond our imagination even five years ago. Now, however, there are so many new brands at every corner of every road. Our readymade garments export industry is one of the largest in the world and this sector has always been a golden resource for our country’s economy. The quality of those products are even better than what we produce for our local fashion retail market.
As a result the local fashion industry still has a long way to go, and we are sure that soon it will reach new heights and perhaps even other parts of the world. Right now, a portion of our market is still overcrowded with Indian products. However, we are very much optimistic that the local fashion brands of our country will soon fill the gap and take the lead.
Mariyé wishes to position itself very prominently in the fashion industry. We mainly focus on our tradition and style, but apart from that, we are also a brand that proudly serves its customers with the best of the best. We do not compromise with fabric quality because our country’s climate is hot and humid country which makes us sweat a lot!
We believe that people must feel comfortable first so we make sure that our customers are comfortable in our clothing. We want our customers to feel that the products they are spending their hard-earned money on is worth it. A brand that does not compromise its quality will always move forward. All in all, we in the long run we hope to offer the best traditional outfits not only to the people of Bangladesh but also all over the world!