Lanka dives into hot resort wear
The season for sun, fun and frolic might be coming to an end, but it’s never too late for holiday wear. Embracing this with passion is the Colombo Fashion Week Resort Wear Show 2012, which will mark a significant step forward for the local fashion industry and its players.
Resort wear is the world’s fastest growing niche market in clothing, says fashion magnate and creator of Colombo Fashion Week Ajai Vir Singh. Not many have an inclination as to what exactly resort wear would constitute but it’s quite simple, says Ajai. “Resort wear is fourfold-swimwear, beachwear, holiday wear and cruise wear.” What’s his personal favourite? “Holiday wear,” he replies.
Ajai Vir Singh
Resort wear is quite popular in that the garments are easy to pack, lightweight and don’t crease easily. In short, they are a godsend for the jet-setting holidaymaker. While resort wear is not restricted to summery designs only, most holidaymakers tend to travel to tropical climates-which means a majority of resort wear is designed for warm climates.
“In short, the perfect opportunity for Sri Lankan designers,” Ajai enthuses. “Who is better suited to design clothing for a tropical climate than someone who lives in that climate themselves? This is an incredibly perfect opportunity for our local designers-they know exactly what materials to use and how to use it to suit our climates.”
It seems that Ajai and his team have zeroed in on the perfect market gap. “Think about it. We’re smack in the middle of a resort cluster. All around us are countries with a large number of resorts and a well established resort culture. Maldives, Goa, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka itself are perfect examples.”
Sri Lanka could very well be a hub for commerce and interaction between fashion designers and their resort wear collections, he adds. “There is no resort wear focused-fashion show that’s of much consequence in this region. We can facilitate interaction between retailers and designers, and in the process push our designers to cater to that market as well.”Creating a stable platform for Sri Lankan designers is nothing new for Ajai and his team.
They inaugurated the Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) almost a decade back to create international opportunities for local designers. This resort wear show (set to be an annual event) will complement the annual Colombo Fashion Week, bringing the designers full circle in terms of their collections.
“I feel that our designers have become a little too comfortable with the CFW module,” says Ajai. “They’ve become too used to the cycle of preparing for and presenting one collection at CFW every year. I’m hoping that introducing this particular show will challenge them to step up their game and work that much harder. We need something more than the annual CFW if we really want to ready our designers to compete in the international arena.”
They’ll certainly be performing to a global audience. The resort wear show that will be held on September 22 at Jetwing Lagoon, Talahena is an invitee-only event for some 200 guests of consequence in the fashion industry. But the show will be broadcast to an international audience through Fashion TV, Colombo Fashion Week’s high profile and enthusiastic partner.
Some heavyweights of Sri Lanka’s fashion industry including Yolande Aluwihare, Sonali Dharmawardena, Dharshi Keerthisena for Buddhi Batiks, Gihan, Avirate and Arugambay (launching its newest venture, Arugambay Surf Club) will present their collections along with four designers from South East Asia.
“We’ve timed this show with other fashion weeks around the world showcasing the following year’s spring/summer resort wear trends,” adds Ajai. “We wanted to plug it in with the global season–Sri Lanka is ready for a second but more focused fashion week.”
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