Bridging creative talent with strong marketing, communication and practical business skills will be crucial for Bangladesh’s next generation of fashion professionals, fashion experts said at an event recently, a press release said.
Universal College Bangladesh (UCBD) organised the industry roundtable discussion in partnership with the Department of Fashion, Promotion and Marketing of the University of Lancashire to discuss the changing landscape of fashion marketing and opportunities in the country’s broader creative economy.
Titled ‘Building Bangladesh’s Next Generation of Fashion Marketing Talent’, the event was held at the UCBD campus in Gulshan, Dhaka.
Dewan Muhammad Sajid Afzal, Chief Executive Officer of Shanta Lifestyle, stressed the need for practical business exposure for aspiring designers. “Designers have amazing ideas, but when it comes to human centric design thinking and pairing it with a business perspective, they need practical exposure. We must focus on real-life entrepreneurship experiences for students, not just theories, to truly help them thrive,” he said.
Speaking on the potential of local creatives, Gagan Bansal, Country Manager, LC Waikiki, opined, “Bangladesh has an incredible depth of art, culture, and creativity, but our designers often struggle to transition from small-scale operations to established brands. To support the next generation, we must focus on the strategic level of brand building, storytelling, and the distinction between local and global markets, so they can successfully scale their creative potential.”
Speaking about the role of artificial intelligence in the creative sector, Paresh Parmar, Associate Dean, School of Arts & Media, University of Lancashire, said, “If we outsource all of our ideas to AI prompts, we confine ourselves to the thinking of the machine. We must first cultivate the ability to find original creative solutions and only then consider using AI as an asset to help us build and refine them.”
Elias Ahmed, Finance Director, Bata Bangladesh, emphasized the importance of consumer connection, remarking, “Visual storytelling is what truly drives modern retail. If emerging designers and marketers want their brands to thrive, they must understand how to attract and engage consumers through an effective physical store experience.”
Among others, Manas Singh, Chief Executive Officer, STS Group and UCBD; Prof. Muhammad Ismail Hossain, Provost, UCBD; Richard Antony Brame, International Partnership Project Manager, University of Lancashire; Minhaz Al Farabi, Regional Quality Manager, BIG W Asia; Reaz Fahme, Senior Sourcing Manager and Office Lead, Sainsbury’s; Zainab Maqsood, Founder and Managing Director, AMIRA; Shabab Din Shareq, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gentleman’s Wardrobe; and Zarin Rashid, Fashion Designer & Health Coach, attended the roundtable.
The discussion concluded with UCBD and the University of Lancashire committing to work with industry partners to provide students with greater market exposure and practical business experience during their studies.
