Nafid Imran Ahmed

It was no ordinary fashion show: The 12th BATEXPO (Bangladesh Apparel & Textile Exposition) fashion show at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel's poolside on last Sunday was a carousel ride where country's leading textile and apparel industries showcased their latest collections.

Organised by BATEXPO and DHL Worldwide Express the fashion show was a part of the three daylong textile extravaganza Bangladesh Apparel & Textile Exposition, which started on March 23, 2002.

The poolside was overflowing with fashion lovers of the city long before the show started. Then with flash of lights and roar of music the awaiting show started. The first queue was with the products of Onus group. One by one the models cat walked wearing long printed skirts mostly in dark colours and single light coloured shirts. Females wearing sleeveless shirts and dark trousers and males wearing jeans and cotton shirts by Aziz group were next.

Proskikha's printed collection in silk was a feast of pretty colours like red and black. It was the next queue and the audience loved it. Agni, a dance group from India performed an aerobic dance number next.

Choiti group presented something little different next. With Aqua's famous number 'Barbie Girl' more then a dozen little children wearing children wear walked down the ramp with a balloon in their hand. The crowd loved it. Next they presented their synthetic t-shirts and trousers. After this the summer and fall collection part of the show came to an end.

The winter collection started off with pullovers in red, brown, white and black trousers by Creator. After that models walked down the ramp wearing striped full sleeve t-shirts by Azim group.

The first Salwar Kameez collection of the show by Proshikha fabrics was really impressive. Most of them were in black having silvery and glittering works. Another dance performance of the famous Indian film soundtrack 'Kambakth Ishq' was next.

NIFD (National Institute of Fashion Design) presented their collection of tidied and block printed tops and after that a range of Salwar Kameez. "I believe there should be no distinction as the east and the west in fashion designing. Whatever you can carry on yourself is best for you," said Mini Sharma, a choreographer and fashion designer from NIFD (Delhi) while talking to The Daily Star. She also said, "I think the people of Bangladesh should be more fashion conscious and the fashion industry should have more international exposure.

Women wearing exclusive evening gowns in light brown and men wearing western hats and fancy shirts by Azim group were appreciated by the audience. Another dance performance by Indian dance group Agni bought the show to an end. Some Indian models and exclusive appearance by Femina Miss India Selina Jetli added more colour to the show.