‘There can be no fashion without passion’

You began with business in the software sector. How and why did you enter the clothing brand business?

Monnujan Nargis: We started off in 2009. During the global recession of 2008, our mobile communications software remained among the top three globally. The recession didn’t hurt us. But it did make us think. If such a situation arose again, we needed to be prepared. That when we studied our options and decided to work in apparels. One of the main reasons was Bangladesh’s rich textile heritage. Also the readymade garment sector was well established, so getting a skilled workforce wouldn’t be a problem. And we were also very confident about product branding because when everyone was outsourcing, we were making software products and marketing our own brand. And at that time there were hardly any retail fashion brands that had taken up the business in an organised manner. That is where we stepped in. From the very outset we were determined to have a fashion brand that we would take outside of the country. We wanted to compete with international brands like H&M or Zara at a global level.

Rezaul Hasan: We are used to product branding. That’s the strength of our group. Indian entrepreneurs were very strong in the IT sector in 2004-05, but wouldn’t do much about products. They were basically focused in outsourcing. That is when we made products for this sector.

Again, Bangladesh has a strong genetic and historical background in clothing. Undoubtedly our idea was an adventurous one, but our basic objective was to diversify rather than invest all the funds of the group into one basket. Diversification is essential if we want to do anything big in an economy like Bangladesh.

You didn’t enter the market with typical ethnic wear. How come?

Monnujan Nargis: That’s where Reve’s unique selling point enters the picture. As I said before, when it came to software, our contemporaries worked with the government or with outsourcing. We manufactured products and marketed these products. That’s why we understood that if we started with ethnic wear, we would face competition. It was already there. So we determined what we wanted to do specifically. We decided to take up fusion wear. Western fashion was the trend outside and there was ethnic fashion here. We wanted to stay between the two – modern, trendy as well as modest fashion. That how we advanced.

Rezaul Hasan: Our ready-to-wear line prioritised modest fashion because such outfits had demand at home and abroad. And our aim has always been to take our brand overseas, today or tomorrow. We did our styling with that in mind. We have physical presence in Singapore and also sell at the top ranking e-commerce platforms there. And our outlet there wasn’t made with Bangladeshis in mind. We had others in our mind. Chinese, Malays and Indians regularly buy our clothes. Some wear our kurtis with trousers, but not the Chinese. They like our silhouettes.

At the time, those who were in readymade garment sector and had entered the local market, didn’t consult experts from outside, but you all did. What prompted you to do so?

Rezaul Hasan: We just didn’t do anything all of a sudden. We took time and researched before coming to a decision. We can take credit here because many in this sector make the mistake of under-costing. They can’t accurately determine the margin to be maintained. They fail to take certain factors into cognizance. You must calculate how much will remain unsold, what amount of waste there will be, how much will have to be sold at discount and so on. But, thanks to the Almighty, we had this calculation in place from the beginning.

As we aimed at an overseas market, we spent a lot on visual merchandising (VM). In 2011 we brought in a VM expert from Singapore. We later brought in another one from India. We had fixed our benchmark and hired anyone as required. Madam (Monnujan Nargis) come from a pharmaceutical background and has worked for multinational pharmaceuticals. She later studied design. That was all a part of our plan.

Monnujan Nargis: From the very beginning we were able to build up a corporate culture in the Reve system. Reve took on a multinational shape back in 2007. So we were familiar with the international market culture. Above all, our policy was to bring in experts from wherever to meet our purpose. We followed the same principle in Le Reve. That is why we brought in an NIFT graduate from India, someone with experience in international brands. We also needed to understand themes, design, and fabrics, to remain updated. We brought together research-oriented efforts and creative culture. We may have made mistakes, but we learnt from our mistakes.

Was selecting star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan as your brand ambassador also a part of that planning?

Rezaul Hasan: We felt that at the time, Shakib Al Hasan was the only star who appealed to all. That is why he was chosen. Toya and Tanveer also worked with us at the time. We even had a contract with them so they couldn’t work with any other fashion brand while under contract with us.

So how these 12 years of experience have been?

Monnujan Nargis: We have been through many ups and downs over these past 12 years. We started with two outlets and now have 18. We feel the consumers here are very fashion conscious. They understand fashion. We have from the very beginning written content focused on our collections, apprised consumers of silhouettes and so on. We have tried to improve standards in whatever sector we have worked over these 12 years. We have tried to present fashion in a stylish manner. The consumers have accepted this wholeheartedly. We launch our collections according to the seasons. We feel that it is suicidal for a fashion brand not to bring forward new collections.

Rezaul Hasan: And the results have been amazing. We have our highest sales during coronavirus. This would have been even higher if we had those 20 days of lockdown during Baishakh and Ramadan. Even so, we had our highest sales.

Any good memories, bad memories you would like to share? Any inspirations?

Monnujan Nargis: Like many other brands, we too started with more focus on men’s clothing, but that wasn’t too successful. That was not exactly a bad memory, but experience. That was part of our learning to correct our mistakes. Later we focused on women’s wear. Now 60 per cent of our clothes are of women and 40 per cent for men. This has given us good response.

Rezaul Hasan: From the beginning we have tried to focus on trendy and modest fashion for youth. We create outfits that a girl might wear on her first day to university, to a hangout with friends, but our silhouette is modest. We’ve had some fun experiences too. Once we designed a sleeveless outfit, but that just didn’t sell well. The moment we made sleeves and attached it to the outfits, these sold like hotcakes. It is important to understand the consumer’s pulse because they carry the brand value. This applies to the consumers in Singapore too. People in Singapore and Europe have high praise for our clothing. They like the designs. Our madam (Monnujan Nargis) also spends all night pouring over new designs, trying new samples, giving feedback to the designers. This passion is essential. Design is certainly important, but there can be no fashion without passion.