Local fabrics in great demand in Eid market

Local fabrics are in great demand in this year's Eid market mainly because of their diversified designs, comparatively cheaper prices and better quality, said traders.

Fashion house owners said the fashion lovers still prefer local wears taking their traditionally and culturally rich designs into consideration.

They also said although the Indian and Pakistani designed fabrics have flooded different markets of the city, most of these are copied from the imported cloths which are made in the outskirts and old parts of the city.

Anjans owner Shahin Ahmed said local boutique houses have earned a customer base in the last 20 years, and the number is increasing due to ability of local fashion houses to ensure quality and new designed products for every festive occasion.

He also hoped that local fashion houses would be able to build their capacity to meet most of the demand of the customers.

However, shop owners of imported fabrics expressed a different opinion, saying customers mainly are buying Indian and Pakistani cloths this year considering their gorgeous looks and cooperatively lower prices to celebrate the Eid festival.

Ruposhi saree house owner Khorshed Alam, also a member of Dhanmondi Hawkers Market Dokan Malik Samity, said 80 per cent of the Indian cloths are being sold in his market due to cheaper prices along with luxury looks and colour.

He said the lower middle class cannot afford their desired dresses from boutique houses within their tight budgets due to high prices.

The association member said women of the middle-income group come to the market because of affordable prices of the products.

Besides, Ohi Textile salesmen at the Shantinagar area said people are purchasing dresses with copied Indian designs and fashion considering lower prices. He said as customers are getting copied dresses at lower prices, they do not want to buy imported ones with high prices.     

The salesmen said the imported dresses are being sold at prices ranging between Tk 3,000 and Tk 10,000, but the same copied one is sold at Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,500 each.

The owner of Wardrobe, an Indian dress seller, said customers are mostly choosing Indian brands and Pakistani wears than locally-made ones.

He said as it is a festival, there is a great demand for foreign cloths.           

The trader displayed Ganga, Rivva and Om Tex, Vipul, Delhi Boutique and Zinam, the Indian-brand shalwar-kamiz sets, which have some changes in design and colour this year.

Visiting different shops at the city, the FE correspondent found the Indian and Pakistani fabrics flooding different markets in the city. But rush of the shoppers at the local boutique houses is also there for collecting exclusively designed and coloured dresses for the festival.

A salesperson of Chaiti, local and imported women's wears shop, at the city's Navana Bailey Star, said both local and Indian wears have good demand among the fashion-lovers.

There are some gatherings in front of local and Indian dresses' counters in the showrooms, he said. "We have large customers who purchase local items just before every Eid"

The prices vary from Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,500 each local dress and Tk 3,000 to Tk 10,000 each Indian dress at the Chaiti outlet, he said. But people are buying mostly wears of medium-range prices.

Shawpna Mela chief executive officer Mainul Islam Nayan, at the same market, also differed over high demand of imported dresses and said people are buying local wears.

He said although sales of the overseas cloths are more, many traders use tricks selling copied dresses in the name of foreign ones.  

Sales managers of Lal-Nil-Shada, Banglar Mela and Kay-Kraft also were of the same opinion. They said their sales are good and people prefer local wears for the Eid festival.

There were huge shoppers' gatherings at Deshi Dosh, the local boutique shopping zone at Bashundhara City. A salesman at Banglar Mela said their sales increased this year. "The fashion-lovers are fond of local dresses as festival wears," he opined.

Prices vary at the Banglar Mela. Women dresses cost Tk 1,750 to Tk 4,000, saree at Tk 550 to Tk 9,000, panjabi at Tk 650 to Tk 3,000, fatua at Tk 450 to Tk 850 and kids' wears at Tk 280 to Tk 2,500 each.    

Nasreen Begum, who went to the Bailey Road area to buy Eid dresses, said she is always fond of local boutique, wears for her and her family members as these are comfortable and exclusive in fashion.

She said people should also buy local products to develop local entrepreneurship.

Besides, Zumura, a student said, she doesn't like Indian wears as it is being copied widely. "I prefer local brand wears and designs for this festival, considering their different looks," she added.