Grade 9 students meet a fashion designer

Grade 9 students meet Mr Samiul Alam, a creative fashion designer in Bangladesh.

Recently, Grade 9 students at the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka participated in a fun and informative session with fashion designer Samiul Alam, who reflected on his experiences exploring identity in clothing.  

Mr Samiul currently designs a collection entitled “Herstory” – luxury womenswear in Bangladesh – in collaboration with lifestyle retailer Aarong. Working with the company since 2017, Samiul has produced exceptional clothing for the national and international fashion market.  

Samiul started the session by sharing his journey to success. He reflected on how fashion helped him express his creativity at a young age as well as shared his interest in music and visual arts. Additionally, he discussed how these interests assisted him in choosing his current line of work, emphasising how historical issues and the sad stories of the Bangladeshi readymade garments industry, such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza, inspired his design fashion pieces.  

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The session also highlighted fashion’s crucial role in our lives and how stories can be portrayed in our clothes. Tragic occurrences in the readymade garments industry in Bangladesh, such as the great collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013, inspired Samiul to raise awareness for Bangladeshi garment workers' well-being through clothing design. He successfully upscaled the awareness-raising project internationally to advocate for the cause, displaying these designs in a Paris fashion show. This initiative deeply impacted the global audience and triggered them to be vocal about the garment workers in Bangladesh. All the designs in his Paris fashion show were timeless and ever-evolving. 

Samiul shared another successful depiction of his designs with the students, which blended Bengali and French street fashion in a colourful string. Applying this idea to his designs effectively promoted his collection's diversity, inclusion and creativity. Representing Bangladesh also meant a lot to him, portraying his love and respect for his country and the stories that can be told through his work.  

“Through this session, I have learnt how creativity plays a crucial role in our lives,” said Grade 9 student Areebah Ahsan. “In addition, it showed me how to reflect my perception and thoughts in creation.”