Is fashion only a story about clothing? Or can the folds of a garment also hold the stories of people, nature, culture and the way of life of a particular region? On World Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Bangladesh’s popular fashion brand Twelve Clothing sought an answer to such a question amid the scenic beauty of Rangamati’s hills and Kaptai Lake.
One of the strongest elements of Bangladesh’s cultural diversity is the country’s various indigenous communities living across different regions. With their own languages, lifestyles, traditions, handicrafts, colours, weaving techniques and diverse clothing, they continuously enrich the country’s cultural landscape.
It was to pay tribute to this diversity that Twelve Clothing, one of the country’s leading indigenous-populated regions, organised a special fashion photoshoot in Rangamati on the occasion of World Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Instead of the artificial lights of a studio or a decorated set, Twelve this time chose nature’s own canvas. The brand’s contemporary clothing was captured on camera amid the vast blue waters of Kaptai Lake, the greenery descending along the slopes of the hills and the natural beauty of the hill settlements.
Featuring local indigenous models, the photoshoot gave Twelve’s clothing an entirely different visual language. Photographer Arian Anderson, himself a son of the hills, captured those moments through his camera. As a result, there was no excessive artificiality throughout the entire initiative; rather, nature, people and clothing seemed to blend with one another in their own natural beauty.
The special feature of this initiative lies precisely here: Twelve did not imitate any particular traditional attire. Instead, it took its own contemporary clothing to the people and nature whose lives and cultures are an integral part of Bangladesh’s diversity. As a result, the garments were presented in an entirely new context.
With time, modernity has also touched the lifestyles of indigenous communities in various ways. The styles of clothing, everyday life and practical needs have changed. Yet, despite these changes, their distinct cultural identities have not disappeared.
Traditional colours, patterns, weaving techniques and handicrafts have survived from generation to generation. Twelve’s initiative has aesthetically brought forward this coexistence of change and tradition.
As a fashion brand, Twelve appears throughout the year with new clothing and initiatives centred around festivals, seasons and various special occasions.
However, the brand does not want to view this year’s Rangamati photoshoot merely as a day-based campaign. Rather, it sees it as the beginning of a long-term vision to present the diverse cultures and creativity of different communities of Bangladesh on a broader scale through the language of fashion.
Twelve stated that they came to Rangamati with clothing made for everyone and available at their outlets. However, their future plans are more extensive. The fabrics, weaving, colours and patterns created by indigenous communities across different regions of Bangladesh possess extraordinary diversity.
In the future, they wish to create something new in Twelve’s clothing by drawing inspiration from their traditional colours, patterns and handicrafts.
They also stated that Twelve wants to showcase this diverse art and design to more people in Bangladesh, while maintaining due respect for its own identity and heritage on the global stage.
At the heart of Twelve’s vision lies an important idea. And that is, fashion is not merely clothing. Clothing is intertwined with the stories of people, the lifestyle of a region, the influence of nature, the heritage of culture and the continuity of change over time.
Amid the hills of Rangamati and Kaptai Lake, this initiative has therefore become more than just a fashion photoshoot; it is an attempt to view Bangladesh’s diverse cultural identity through a new aesthetic. Blue water, green hills, the spontaneous presence of local people and contemporary clothing. Together, they have created a colourful fusion of nature, people, culture and modern fashion.
Extending respect and greetings to all indigenous communities living across different parts of Bangladesh on World Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Twelve’s initiative seems to remind us that the story of fashion in Bangladesh is as much about clothing as it is, even more so, about the people, soil, nature and multi-coloured culture of this country.
