Banglar Gonji – tee of Bengal

T-shirts are usually seen as cool and comfy, but what if they became statement pieces, or reflections of your mood? 

That is what "Banglar Gonji" successfully did. It turned T-shirts from casual wear to statement wear and these eventually became iconic attires among urban youths and professionals of Dhaka. 

Their T-shirt slogans have catchy and funny phrases, and sometimes even have social messages printed on them - making the T-shirts a hit among customers. 

For the generation that grew up using social media, donning popular phrases on T-shirts such as "You have to bujhte hobey", "Shohomoth bhai" and "Khela hobey" turned into something bigger than just a fashion statement.   

Those born in the 90s took to the designs highlighting timeless creations of Humayun Ahmed such as "Baker Bhai" and "Aaj Robibar". 

Banglar Gonji brought a new fashion wave where wearing T-shirts became a symbol of one's individuality.  

While talking to The Business Standard,  Mohammad Yearuzzaman, the founder and creative producer of Banglar Gonji, stated that Banglar Gonji did not set out to be a commercial brand with massive sales. 

"Banglar Gonji was born in 2015 out of a communal feeling of being lost, and being out of touch with our country and culture. The T-shirt culture did not really exist in Bangladesh, we were not used to it."

He continued, "We wanted to bring our everyday expressions into fine arts and modern designs. The Banglar Gonji that you see now is an expression of that. We wanted to enforce the philosophy behind Banglar Gonji, and we are still trying to do it."

The pandemic hurt the brand's production setup and according to Yearuzzaman, they lost nearly 60 percent of their sales. 

On a brighter note, sales picked up during Eid-ul-Azha and things are looking slightly better. "We are prepared that it will be some time before rapid sales returns," he said.

When we asked him whether Banglar Gonji has any plan for the upcoming winter, he replied, "With our critical production and sourcing, we cannot plan anything seasonal, although sometimes it happens by fluke. We have no plans for this winter, rather, we have a lot of pending designs due to the pandemic which we want to release as soon as possible."

The production and sales team currently has five to six people working in them. 

Yearuzzaman represents a feature category under Banglar Gonji called "River Ink Signature" where all the designs are his own. "I am not the sole designer of Banglar Gonji, we have released many designs by artists and designers from Bangladesh and abroad." 

It is not only men who flaunt Banglar Gonji tees, it is also popular among women. 

"We have more female customers than male customers, perhaps they like our T-shirts more, or simply like to gift them to their partners, fathers, or brothers. In any case, it is a great thing for us. 

"During the pandemic, we have had couples send each other our T-shirts to convey how much they are missing each other, a tad funny but also cute!" said Yearuzzaman. 

In case you are wondering, Banglar Gonji has no options for custom designs. You can order their T-shirts through their Facebook page or website. They also deliver out of Dhaka. 

The price range is within Tk280 and Tk480, whereas full-sleeved hoodies cost upto Tk650. Sizes up to 3XL are available.