KAY KRAFT

A Decade of Alternative Fashion

Imran H. Khan

A decade has passed since the duo Khaled Mahmud and Shahnaz Sultana started Kay Kraft from their very own home. It was the beginning of a small dream, the dream of owning their own shop, their own little vision for the future. That future is today and the dream has become reality. Kay Kraft has now become one of the renowned boutiques of today, with branches in numerous places in Dhaka. It has been serving its clientele with a wide range of alternative fashion since the dawn of its time.

To commemorate the ten glorious years of its existence, Kay Kraft opened its doors to its latest branch in Baily Road. It was open to the public on September 12th. The day before, there was a discussion with people from the press on how it could serve its customers better. Present on the occasion were the couple Khaled Mahmud and Shahnaz Sultana along with Chandra Shekhar Shaha.

The journey of Kay Kraft started with a small show in the sitting room, initiated by a spark of an idea. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Kay Kraft. All throughout these years, Kay Kraft has worked with changing times with the simple view to satisfy the likes and desires of its clientele. “Our clients have certain demand from us too and we try our best to fulfil them,” says Khaled Mahmud. He goes on to say that their “client group has been the main source of inspiration to what we think has been a tremendous progress from tireless striving.” Because they have had their consumers' spontaneous participation, they have been able to divert their hobby into a full-fledged profession. “Kay Kraft has always gone along with the changes of time and has always tried to provide its consumers with new alternatives. We always try to make over the design and production units into something more creative and contemporary,” says the person who started it all, Shahnaz Sultana.

From this year Kay Kraft has started designing clothes for children, a longtime dream of Kay Kraft's foundrs. They have initiated their ideas at this new branch in Baily Road. Nowadays, home textiles and craft-work have become essential components of trendy lifestyle. Kay Kraft is busily working away with these. “We have also decided to work on a large scale with home decorations and gift products in the near future,” says Khaled. In order to work more closely with the patrons, they have decided to make an organisation with them. This will be the Club Kay Kraft. The members of this club will also become members of the Kay Kraft family. They will receive all the information and invitations about programmes, designs and offer before hand. Kay Kraft also hopes to make publications and other events with this club in the future. This club will be free of cost of course.

On the tenth year, they were graced with the presence of Chandra Shekhar Shaha as their advisor. He felt that people tend to look towards boutiques to provide them with something new and different on every special occasion. “Every boutique wants to create its own identity. Kay Kraft in one boutique that has always kept its clients ahead,” says Shaha, speaking on the occasion. “Time always represents itself in its own way. Boutique houses represent themselves on the basis of their performance. 'What I wish to, do', 'whom I wish to reach' and during what period of time, these are the main questions that a boutique must answer before they start to reach out to the people,” he continues. Originality is the main concept that should always be explore he said. In this field, satellite television has played a tremendous role in the minds of the fashion conscious. The younger generation sees people from different cultures and their fashion and try to adopt them but they forget their own culture in doing so. Kay Kraft is trying its best to bring about a balance, such that the people are getting the right mix of outside culture, while not forgetting their own identity.

The creators of Kay Kraft hope that with the combined help of their craftspeople, designers group, all the workers of Kay Kraft as well as the effort of their sales team, they will be able to produce a modern and more elegant Kay Kraft in the future; one which the clients will appreciate and respect.