Nawshin Khair tells us more about the inspiration behind the trendy winter jackets
For the last three decades, Aranya has established itself as a sustainable brand that aims to recapture and re-establish the lost traditions of natural dye usage commercially. Since its origin, Aranya has been known as an organisation to promote Fair Trade, traditional heritage crafts in local and international markets. However, much like the time, Aranya has begun to make headway towards the future by launching its new and hip winter collection. Nawshin Khair, the Creative and Managing Director of Aranya shares the inspiration behind Aranya’s winter collection.
Aranya is redefining the fusion between ethnic wears and contemporary apparel. A reputed name in the fashion industry, Aranya is shaking up the Dhaka winter fashion scene with its bright and bold ethnic-themed Bomber Jackets. “Our main focus was to make jackets with the footprints of our heritage,” she states. Nawshin believes that the fashion sense of women and men in Bangladesh is getting more diversified because of their exposure to a globalised world. “The Millennials in our country demands cutting edge designs and want to take part in the latest trends. And why out offer them just that?”
She carries the notion that it is imperative to keep up with the trend to create a positive impact in the fashion industry. “There has been a shift in the mindset of local consumers when it comes to ethnic wears and we want to be a part of it,” she goes on to share, “there are also many expats in our country, who would come to our stores and take back a little piece of our culture instilled in our products. It has encouraged us to produce something that is ready to wear and reflects our heritage.”
From the collection, it is evident that the brand wants to nurture a homegrown style that appeals to our younger generation. “It’s not only about selling our products. We also want to tell the stories of our artisans and their master craftsmanship,” she adds. Techniques similar to Nakhsi Kantha went behind Aranya’s jackets. To top that off, natural dyes made from madder and pomegranate shells make the suave bombers to shine and stand out on the streets. “We want to popularise environment-friendly, ethnically made heritage crafts among the fashionistas of today,” says Nawshin Khair.
It is safe to say that Aranya has just started to scratch the surface of new possibilities with their new initiative. With that being said, a decade and a half ago many of us wouldn’t see many western clothes on youngsters compared to nowadays. “People, our youth especially, has become our prime demographic. We have evolved from wearing shawls everywhere to donning jackets on winters. The climate change is so evident, it’s getting colder in Bangladesh. Hence designing and launching sustainable bombers came very organically to us.”
The Aranya Team is coming up with more contemporary products, which means clothing like knitwear and fusion wears are in the pipeline for the foreseeable future. “We are trying to make our brand more contemporary in the hopes to make it go global one day,” she concludes.
Model: Nazia, Simmi
Wardrobe: Aranya
Photography: Rony Rezaul
Makeup & Hair: AURA Beauty Lounge