Casual elegance on the beach

Smriti Daniel finds designers echoing indigenous vibes at Colombo Fashion Week’s Resort Wear Show

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It’s a rare opportunity for any audience – to escape the confines of another hotel ballroom and to sit instead on a beach, shuck off your heels and

Fouzul Hameed takes a bow with his FH Studio collection models

dig your toes into the sand, all while taking in the collections of world class designers. But then again, it’s the HSBC CFW Resort Wear Show and this is exactly the environment some of Sri Lanka’s best known fashion brands, and their foreign counterparts, are designing for.

In its third edition now, and with every year the Resort Show just gets bigger, better, bolder and more beautiful. This year’s stage with a backdrop of eight large catamarans, their enormous sails filled with wind coming off the ocean behind, created a dramatic frame for the 20 odd designers showcasing their collections on the final two days.

Spa Ceylon

With the ‘Bright Sparks’ series having set the scene, the ramp was thrown open to established designers all tasked with creating collections perfect for the resort season. CFW has long wanted to position Sri Lanka as a fashion leader in this part of the world, and driving the fashion behind an entire new season is a canny way to cement this island’s reputation amongst the highest fashion circles.

Walking in to the beautiful premises of Jetwing Blue in Negombo, guests were faced with a playful line of narrow white tents housing CFW’s pop-up stores, created with the support of TATA Housing. Packed into them were garments, shoes and accessories from the

Harare

brands participating in the event. Also on the beach were a line of stalls selling a mouth-watering array of beach snacks –including a Johor Laksa Lemak and Provencal pancakes from the Malaysian Kenneth Loke and the French chef Daniel Hebet.(Of course, with an unremitting drizzle guests were forced to commandeer umbrellas to walk between the two and again later to keep their heads dry during the actual show itself.)

U by Upeksha

Inaugurating the ramp on the penultimate day was the face of the HSBC CFW Resort Show – Adam Flamer-Caldera. The son of CFW Director Dirk Flamer-Caldera, Sri Lanka’s ‘first male supermodel’ arrived in a Land Rover and took the mike to say it was good to be home. With that the show kicked off.

On the roster that first night were Bibi Russell (long considered one of the great friends of CFW, with enviable international status), Maus, Aale by Radhika, Spa Ceylon, Ramona Oshini, Indi by Indeevari Yapa Abeywardena, Koca, Catherine Rawson, Deneth and Harare. On the next and final night, Sonali Dharmawardene was the show starter, with Arugam Bay, Coco, Conscience Lr, Nelun Harasgama, Upeksha Hager, Charini Suriyage, Fouzul Hameed, CJS and Abraham &Thakore following her on the ramp.

Though she couldn’t make it for the show, Deneth Piumakshi remains one of the most exciting designers to come out of Sri Lanka and its clear she’s grown with exposure to international markets. Certainly, she’s claimed the colourful, densely patterned cheeththa material for her own. Paired with an uncluttered, clean cut yet bold lines, her signature collection for the CFW Resort Show was amongst its most memorable.

Koca

Harare, one of the brands the organisers were most excited about having at the show, were the finale act on the first day. Designer Caroline Fuss, who was inspired by nomadic tribes, their people and the landscapes they inhabit, says

Sonali Dharmawardene

she most enjoys working with natural, “humble” materials such as raw brown cotton, recycled denim and white gauze. In her collection that night, she infused these fabrics with rich hand embroidery, metallic gold threads and intricate macramé weaving to beautiful effect.

Several designers embraced a black and white palette. Nelun Harasgama of Ohe Island by Nelun was among them and she produced a lovely collection inspired by the shells, common periwinkles and crustaceans of the ocean. With an emphasis on neutrals, blacks and whites, she made use of raw silk, linen, cottons, with handmade batiks and patchwork designs. Her playful collection showed how a single piece of fabric could be draped to make a pair of pants, a jumpsuit or a dress.

Inspired by nature, Sonali Dharmawardena proved once again why she is one of Sri Lanka’s best loved designers working in batik. Her contemporary, distinctly Sri Lankan collection was donned by models carrying decorated branches, strutting the ramp to

Abraham & Thakore

the tune of Michael Jackson’s Earth song. Sonali, who was striving for a look of casual elegance, took her bows on stage, and managed to nudge a seemingly reluctant white pigeon to claim its freedom to mark the

end of her time on stage.

Aale by Radhika Mendis

Upeksha of U By Upeksha Hager produced one of the evening’s most appealing collections. With every year, the designer’s reputation has grown until it seems natural for her claim ramp time on the final and most prestigious night of the Resort Show. Her collection, a mix of the sixties, Victorian elements and tailored suits was interpreted with “respectful irreverence,” and was accentuated with mesh, linen and white cutwork lace fabric.

FH Studio by Fouzul Hameed was one of the few to abandon a stark palette for a more vibrant look. The designer’s declared inspiration for this collection was ‘A fusion of sunset colours with cotton and linen fabrics.’

Also in the finale was Charini Suriyage, who chose to find inspiration in endemic, endangered butterflies, converting art into textile prints for her collection. Her collection was defined by a mood of “easy glam”, sophisticated and elegant yet comfortable. “It is also very feminine, sexy but it is meant for a more mature audience,” the designer has said.

David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore of Abraham &Thakore served up the finale of all finales, with their much anticipated Sri Lankan debut. Modern, simple clothing in an assortment of different styles boasted a distinctly Eastern aesthetic. Fashion separates incorporated traditional craftsmanship and textiles but were interpreted through a contemporary lens.

With many new and returning designers, the HSBC CFW Resort Show seems to have come into its own – with every designer producing at least one memorable outfit, and with many producing several. While the audience was small, the clout of the fashion tastemakers among them and the reach of the many media outlets covering it, guarantee that the word will be out. The fashion scene in Sri Lanka is worth keeping an eye out for.

Coco Resort with shades of Frida Kahlo

Making its debut at the CFW Resort Show 2014 in Negombo, Coco Resort spelled out the free-spirited soul that is quintessential to the COCO brand.

Twentieth century Mexican artist and feminist icon Frida Kahlo is the inspiration behind the Coco Resort brand. Best known for her self portraits, her work is very emblematic of tradition, convention and feminism. It is this that Managing Director of Cotton Collection and designer of this Collection Niloufer Anverally strove to create – swirling skirts with bright flowers depicting a garden in bloom, peasant style tops, fun shift dresses with just a touch of the indigenous, and comfortable palazzo pants, all speak of the heart and soul of the free spirit, which is what Kahlo strove to depict in her paintings.

“For the Coco team, this was truly an exciting project because Frida Kahlo epitomizes the very soul of Coco,” says Niloufer of the celebrated artist whose Neo-Mexicanism artistic style etched a path of bold femininity. Using Frida’s signature hats depicting birds in nests or simply birds in repose, the CocoTeam added that essential hallmark of dramatic symbolism with a vignette of primitive style to the bright colours that lit up the catwalk.

Rugged, sleek and organic – the mark of ‘Conscience’

By Vinushe Paulraj

Forging through tough terrain, Land Rover’s latest mission is the runway. Starting their journey with Colombo Fashion Week three years ago at a Resort Wear show, the stylishly rugged vehicles have become an anticipated piece of décor since then at the CFW events.

Roshi Fernando for SML Frontier Automotive (Pvt) Ltd says despite its reputation of being a heavy-duty outdoor product, Land Rover has not been too far from fashion. Special edition vehicles designed by fashion icon Victoria Beckham and a line of clothes- Land Rover Gear, easily slip the brand into the more stylish of the SUV category. This year, SML Frontier Automotive took it a step further launching its exclusive label ‘Conscience’.

SML Frontier Automotive’s recent projects that include “Explorations” are essentially planned excursions to promote responsible 4 by 4 driving and this sense of refined exploration and adventure is what ‘Conscience’ is about.

Refined exploration in the interest of conservation has been the main theme of their effort and this is mirrored in the 15 styles of the capsule collection presented at the resort wear show. The rugged-meets- sleek style designed by Ajai Vir Singh is entirely fashioned out of organic cotton. “A lot of certification is involved,” Roshi explains. Everything from the seeds, soil and even harvesting practices have to be certified which does make the resulting cotton expensive but responsibly produced. “It’s about making guilt-free garments of high quality that don’t harm the environment,” she says.

The cotton comes from near the Indira Gandhi Natural Reserve in India. Production however is to happen in Sri Lankan factories that have the ‘garments without guilt’ certification. Production will essentially be small scale. In the hope that Sri Lanka is open to the concept of responsible clothing and likes their spin on fashion, Roshi says a few exclusive retailers will carry the label and it will be available online and at the new showroom SML Frontier Automotive hopes to open.