Asad Sattar, Founder and Creative Director of Arka Fashion Week, recently represented Bangladesh for the second consecutive year at the BRICS+ Fashion Summit in Moscow, highlighting the potential of fashion to promote the country’s culture, crafts and creative identity on the global stage.

Held from September 28 to 30, the summit brought together discussions on fashion’s role in shaping culture and its potential as a tool of soft power.

Speaking at a plenary session, Sattar discussed how Bangladesh, internationally recognised for its garment manufacturing industry, could use fashion to introduce its cultural heritage, craftsmanship and stories to international audiences.

“Fashion is a gateway art. It’s the front door for most people, their first art form, because not everyone can paint or play an instrument, but everyone gets dressed in the morning,” he said.

Sattar also highlighted the need for Bangladesh to move beyond its established role as a supplier of ready-made garments and develop a stronger identity in design and creative innovation.

“For forty years Bangladesh has been ‘Made in Bangladesh’ - we make what the world designs. ‘Designed in Bangladesh’ is a different proposition entirely: a garment carries a price, but a design carries a point of view. And a point of view travels further than any trade delegation,” he said.

Arka Fashion Week, he said, plays an important role in nurturing an ecosystem that encourages creativity and innovation in fashion.

The philosophy is also reflected in the name “Arka”, which translates to the sun. Drawing a connection between the name and the concept of soft power, Sattar said the goal should be to emulate the sun rather than a spotlight.

While a spotlight illuminates one person, the sun rises every day, he explained, emphasising the importance of building a lasting and sustainable cultural presence. To attain soft power, Sattar says it’s necessary to ‘build a sun’.

Arka Fashion Week is scheduled to return from December 4 to 6 at Aloki in Dhaka. The upcoming edition will explore the platform’s growing collaborations with international fashion platforms associated with BRICS+.