Celebrating youth's creativity, culture, and consciousness

A glimpse into the vibrant world of Arka Fashion Week 2025 being held in Dhaka

It is no wonder that we frequently find ourselves struggling to adapt to constant changes. In such moments, we seek stability and connection, wondering how long it will take to feel truly at home in this ever-shifting world. The youth-led dynamics of the current era are no exception, requiring us to adapt to ideas, beliefs, and thoughts that previously felt unfamiliar. Arka Fashion Week, celebrating fashion and youth engagement as a whole, seeks to ignite interest in everything that captivates the minds of Gen Z young adults. The fashion, brands and creator's lineup embodies a quintessential Gen Z ethos: choosing the road less traveled. The fusion of fashion and art has gained respect and recognition across diverse walks of life, particularly in the post-Covid-19 era. Since its inception in 2023, Arka Fashion Week has been a pivotal platform for celebrating youth-driven creativity, sustainable practices, entrepreneurship and cultural appreciation, shaping Dhaka into a hub for fashion-forward ideas.
The celebration surrounding tech jobs was on the rise, and we knew electronic neon-inspired art and rainbow-vibrant clothing were cool, however, in all the vibrance and self-centred celebration apparent from the outside, we forgot one thing about Gen Z. The generation likes to keep things low key intact. Post Covid, hard to crack careers that did not receive much hype, like designing, crafting, solo-preneurship, software engineering or electrical engineering, were embraced with open arms by Bangladeshi Gen Z. It is safe enough for older generations to presume that the youth of today do not like bothering with jargon, instead they shed the limelight on finding true happiness through their engagement in their activities. The lineup of AFW will remind anyone just the same. The four-day spanning event is a celebration of pastel shades, all things 'it', fast foods, rainbows and the university-going Gen Z youth.
The event kicked off on January 16 in Aloki, an event venue in the capital's Gulshan - Tejgaon Link Road. Fashion's ecosystem back in the day might have stayed locked in the safety of our wardrobes and almirahs, but today's youths take fashion seriously like boomers respected anyone involved in medical professions. Arka Fashion Week's Masterclass lineup kicked off with denim-centred activities: fashion photography segment by LenZKrAFT Production, Fashioning Influence: Community & Identity by Sobia Ameen &Rahemur Rahman, Production Lighting workshop by Ecube Entertainment, Makeup for Every Occasion by Pinky Peya, Bake with Style by Mahim Makes, Natural Dye with Marigold and Catechu Dyebath by Nawshin Khair.
The Friday follow-up consisted of modern contemporary parcels. Indigo Tie-Dye and Shibori segment by Living Blue, Crocheting by Flappy Clouds, Build a Fashion Brand by Mehruz Munir, Graffiti Art by Aakabaaka, Clay Jewellery by Ankon, Karchupi and Zardozi by House of Ahmed, The Art of DJ-ing by Arsi consisted of January 17 activity flow in the event. The event gets more colourful on Saturday with its lineup to kick off with the Rickshaw Painting segment led by Protibha. For skin enthusiasts, the day ends with a segment dedicated towards makeup: Elevating Your Makeup Game by Aneeka Bushra. In between, events dedicated to the age-old history of Banarasi Weaving and Accessories discussing the variant primarily available in sarees worn by Bangladeshi women on celebratory occasions, screen printing, kantha stitch and bead jewellery fill the void. The segments are to be led by Sk Saifur Rahman and Zahera Shirin's Local Label, BanglaPunk, Afsana Ferdousi, and Beaded, respectively in order.
Arka Fashion Week's masterclass section offers an array of practices endorsing sustainability on the closing day on January 19, Sunday. Chhap will lead a segment on Block Print. Tangia Zaman Methila will conduct a discussion and participate in modelling. Among other segments, 3D Modeling for Jewelry Concept Design and Rapid Prototyping by Enayet, Design Lab by Asad Sattar, Pati Diversification by Karunik and Upcycling on Urukku are to take place. The Design Lab was an interactive space where attendees could customise products like t-shirts, hats, and tote bags using techniques such as block printing and hand-painting. This hands-on experience allowed participants to explore their creativity and take home personalised fashion items.
It would be a falsified statement to say that one does not like anything about Arka Fashion Week taking place in Tejgaon Gulshan Link Road, Dhaka in the current year. The fog in the atmosphere in Dhaka may not be present as much as we feel the chill, but the enthusiasm among young adults visiting Arka Fashion Week this year displays a steep head upwards. Pops of yellow, blue and pink shades in the cards swinging around the necklines of participating volunteers distinctively separated the visitors consisting mostly of youth wearing grunge outfits. Black predominantly ruled the dressing choices of the participants and volunteers whilst the Marketplace was rainbow. The Marketplace hosted over 50 entrepreneurs and brands focusing on sustainable, locally made fashion and accessories. It provided a platform for small businesses to showcase their products and connect with a broader audience. The Gallery offered contests, and places for workshops that are mostly known as healing practices to young adults, thanks to Youtube and Facebook. Rings, chains, voluminous hairstyles adopted by male visitors, black pants, and monochrome shades ruled the corners and the widths.
Four colours dominated the collections offered by participating brands in Arka Fashion Week: Sky blue, black, soft yellow, and white. Arka Fashion Week never lacked the attraction points for young adults embracing life in the late 2020s. It had pop culture nodding positively to the purposes of the brands participating in the FW, the events to engage the visitors, and the motto of the entire zeitgeist. Chhaap, a brand specialising in more natural colours coming from the shades of the Earth ruled their collection. An obvious message demonstrating the age-old trend of doing block work on breathable cotton varieties came through. Jewellery offered by ventures such as So Called Artist, Adorn & Co., sustainability-focused yet cheeky products by Barbi, beaded ornaments by Sworup, sleeveless tops by Mulberry, feminine tops by Tasha, coats by Lola White made the marketplace a hub of products celebrating diversity and concern for the environment. Taan is a brand offering clothing items produced with a view to caring for the need of wearing sustainable or recyclable, reusable clothing. Clothes must never be dull for Gen Z and high-spirited entrepreneurial venture Glee presented its stall full of digitally printed shirts. Glee had a sartorial message to offer without messing with the ebb and flow of the demands of the adulting youth. Shirts in black, white, baby blue, baby pink, off-white, and all shades of pastels were the canvas base. Rickshaw-inspired digital prints succumbing to the neon-esque electronic detailing sat on top of them. The brand has been participating in the fashion week for two years. Although the rainbow-bright prints may be becoming cornerstones for silk or synthetic fibre-based clothing items available, the concern of today's young adults about the impact of global warming and climate change on the habitability of planet Earth did not go unnoticed.
Arka Fashion Week 2025 reveals something remarkable about Bangladesh's youth, fashion, and cultural dynamics. Between the neon pulse of digital prints and the century old tales of Varanasi-inspired sharees reminding us of country-blending and tradition, we see the effortless blend of fun with concern as environment-consciousness remains a substantial part of the fashion spectacle amidst the clamour of Barbie shades of pastels and electronic music. AFW isn't just a fashion showcase-it's a youth movement that blends creativity with responsibility, inspiring youths to think beyond trends.
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