00:00Habiba Akhtar-Sharavi is a fashion designer, influencer and entrepreneur looking to change
00:05the face of fashion in Bangladesh.
00:08I started in 2016 from my student dormitory at Dhaka University.
00:13I began by selling hand-painted T-shirts and tie-dye saris online through F-commerce.
00:19I started my business on Facebook.
00:22Shoravi needed money and not just for fabrics but to fund her fashion studies abroad.
00:28I started creating content in 2018 because of this idea.
00:33This not only introduced me as a content creator but also became the watermark of the dresses I designed.
00:40My face became known.
00:42People knew I was the designer behind those designs.
00:46Everyone came to know me and my brand at the same time.
00:53As a woman in a male-dominated industry, she had difficulties being taken seriously.
00:58Even buying thread and fabrics from the market was a hurdle, just because of her gender.
01:03Eventually, she built a network of supporters and sellers but faces harassment online to this day.
01:11Sometimes we face cyberbullying and negativity.
01:14We do get these negative comments but the ratio is very low.
01:18Out of 100 comments, 98 are positive.
01:23But persistence pays off.
01:25Both her brand and content grew.
01:27And she finally studied abroad.
01:29Bangladesh is the world's second largest garment exporter after China.
01:34The industry's export value reached approximately 39 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, accounting for over 80 percent of the
01:43country's total exports.
01:44Serovi wants Bangladesh to be known not just for making clothes but for designing them.
01:50As a designer, I feel that when a global brand makes dresses in Bangladesh, the
01:56made in Bangladesh tag is placed below their brand name.
01:59But the label shown above doesn't belong to any Bangladeshi.
02:03We don't even know who the dress designer is.
02:09Serovi regularly posts content online, both on her own and on her brand's channels.
02:14With over two million followers, social media is a source of income too.
02:18And, of course, visibility is key.
02:27In this age of social media, out of sight, out of mind is very true.
02:32That's why we post pictures, reels and videos, things that are very popular on social media,
02:38every day from our channels.
02:39And these things boost our sales.
02:46Haviba Akder-Shirovi employs many women to help break the industry barriers she once faced.
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