Whoever thinks that fashion is frivolous or superficial should think again, because that notion has been long since done away with. For twenty six talented young girls, fashion and fashion design has taken on a whole new dimension. From their first source of inspiration to the final touches of an outfit, the past three to four months have been packed with an all new experience of every aspect of fashion.

Their creations come on the ramp on July 26 at 7 pm, at the Ladies College Auditorium. Impressions of Beauty, a Designer's Night as it is called, promises to be a tribute to the talent of these young designers (aged 17 and 18), talent which some of them were not even aware of.

This is no ordinary fashion show; "In fact we do not even want to call it a fashion show," stated Ms. Shyamala Pinto Jayawardene, senior Art teacher at Ladies College and teacher-in-charge of the event. The designs are all the creations of the girls themselves; they have designed, painted and made their own blocks. Some of the designs were done to suit the individual models who would be wearing the outfits. "Our focus was not only on giving our students the opportunity to showcase their talent, but also to instil in them, the confidence that they could not only design, but finish the designs and mode them as well."

Having started out as an initiative to show the students the numerous possibilities and opportunities open to them through art, Impressions of Beauty has become far more to all those participating. They may not all end up becoming fashion designers, but they will come away with an experience that is fully worth all their hard work.

Nature being one of the main inspirational themes, each design captures the essence of the beauty of the birds, butterflies, flowers, trees, cascading water, swirling seas, rushing rivers, creatures of the sea, emotions and the human form.

Choreography of the show is done by Graham Hatch, with ABC Radio and Art TV as the media sponsors and Blaze Media as the Multimedia sponsors. Tickets for the show, priced at Rs. 1000 and 500, will be available at Ladies College.