Sartorial elegance vs branding

Since when have Bangladesh farmers, fishermen, labourers of varying types started wearing trousers instead of lungi or loin clothes? It is difficult to keep count. But it can safely be assumed that it has a strong relation to costs. Readymade garments have revolutionised the dressing habit of Bangladesh people. Because not all consignments end up landing on foreign shores for reasons of slight defects to dresses or ill maintenance of time schedule, some sneak into local market. These articles at times are outrageously cheap -cheaper than a lungi.
This explains why even illiterate youths are well dressed or working people wear shirt and trouser in situations where mud, grease, oil or soot make the dress dirty. Convenient to wear and with no chance of getting embarrassed on account of exposure from wind-swept or other abruptness, trousers have started replacing other traditional clothes at the lowest level of society with availability and low cost. Durability is also a factor. However, sartorial elegance is not a top priority at this level. At times the trousers may not be quite stylish but at least they are good enough to serve the primary purpose -utility.
Those who care for sartorial exception are a different breed. With not so fat wallet, youths may be choosy enough about what they wear. The country's emergence as one of the leading apparel exporters in the world has offered as a by-product an opportunity for such young men and women. Bangabazaar at Gulistan and New Market in the capital once were the only centres where the rejected lots from export orders were available. But today such materials are available at most street corners of the capital. Of course, those prime centres cater for the maximum number of customers. They still have the best lots of trousers, shirts and tracksuits, wind cheater, jump suits and other such dresses.
The stylish dresses of the highest order cost and the customers of those have select stores where the best local and foreign brands are available. Money is no problem for such customers. Distinct for style and elegance and even opulence, these dresses are readymade. If the local stores cannot satisfy their taste, some of them collect their wears from abroad on their trips.
There is yet another group which is not comfortable with readymade garments. Members of this group look for sartorial excellence from reputed tailors. It is exactly here, something looks very strange when one foreign brand's phenomenal spread is taken into account. Started its journey in 1925, The Raymond, an Indian branded fabric and fashion retailer, became global conglomerate to reckon with soon enough. But it did not come to Bangladesh until the current decade. But its outlets are now seeing a mushrooming growth. On Elephant Road of the capital, the Raymonds are running a sartorial riot.
Unless they have high demand, the outlets could not proliferate so fast. Local tailoring shops such as SunMoon and Ferdous once enjoyed some monopoly but none of them could make such a splash. The problem with local tailoring lies in the imported clothes. The Raymond produces fabric on its own. The fabrics on their part with quality and texture have occupied a special place. The garments industry has made its mark but so far as branding of clothing is concerned, the country's lacking is noticeable. How the entrepreneurs view this anachronism will actually decide the country's branding effort in the apparel sector.
Apart from the Raymond, Arvinda, Sitaram etc. have flexed their marketing muscles abroad on account of their textile finesse and elegance. Bangladesh needs a few such retailer fabric cum tailor conglomerate for its branding. As long as the country makes dresses on order it cannot ask for its own brand of trousers, shirts and suits. The fact is, manufacture of clothes of high quality needs more investment and entrepreneurship. Now the country should afford it. Instead of playing the role of a surrogate, the country should be mindful of producing its own progeny with a distinct mark.