Paying homage to the rich textile heritage of Bangladesh, Rina Latif, one of the most renowned fashion designers of the country, returned once more to the public eye with a fashion show on April 28.

The fashion show featuring collections designed by internationally acclaimed fashion designer Rina Latif was held at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden in the city on April 28 evening, marking her completion of 30 years in the fashion industry.

The fashion show titled "An Odyssey into Imagination - Thirty Years of Rina Latif" showcased outfits designed by the celebrated designer depicting the story of rebellious spirit of the Khadi, the romance and whimsy of muslin, the lush grandeur of Benaroshi and the intricacies of jamdani with the signature Rina Latif flourish.

The Rina Latif label was created three decades ago with just a handful of people. Starting with the traditional and centuries old craft of hand block printing, she worked to reintroduce the fashion in the market. Slowly growing into a studio, she started experimenting with unique embroidery techniques - and thus, her signature tapestry embroidery was born.

The embroidery is an excruciatingly detail oriented craft relying on the manipulation of combining a thousand odd threads into one tapestry. Her inspiration is drawn from nature, the focus being on botanica. The colours, flora and fauna found in nature are replicated onto fabric with all the nuances and tones.

Rina Latif's work has been showcased in the very prestigious shows abroad such as various Fashion Weeks in Europe, India and Pakistan, meanwhile, the label has become the only internationally coveted brand to emerge out of the Bangladeshi fashion scene. The label is carried in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Dubai, London and New York.

Through this fashion show, Rina Latif showcased the collections designed by herself in Bangladesh after 18 years, said Azra Mahmood, choreographer of the show.

In 2002, she held her first major fashion show. A culmination of her works with Bangladeshi weavers from all over the country. The focus of her work has been primarily on muslin. Working with the weavers who still retained the knowledge of the dying art of weaving muslin, Rina tried to bring the art back in fashion.

Today muslin is once again in vogue in Bangladesh and the designer iintended to take it further beyond the border.

According to Rina Latif, a designer is an artist who does the artwork on fabrics.

If one loves the work and feels for it, outstanding designs are must to come out from the designer, she said.

With tasteful music, mesmerizing sound and exclusive outfits designed by the internationally recognized designer stole the hearts of the selected crowd in the show.

And the special makeup of the models done by Farzana Shakil herself added extra beauty to the show.