Weaving in Lankan lace into Denmark fashions
Susila Rajapakse joins her palms together in welcome as she hurries to greet visitors to the Dickwella Lace Centre with a smile. Custodian of the art form she learned from her mother, in the seven years of overseeing productions at the Centre she is now quite accustomed to the curious few who walk in. “People are interested in learning about it,” she tells us, walking back to her 20 guests from Denmark, “especially people from abroad.”
Weaving for an overseas market. Pix by Ranjith Perera
Visiting Sri Lanka as a part of their undergraduate learning programme, the group of fashion students from Denmark spent six of their 10 day visit at the Lace Centre. Susila and her ladies had been prepping for this visit for about a week before the guests arrived. “They sent us some patterns via email,” she smiles. Commissioning seven women to work on the pieces envisioned by the students her observation was that they were not traditional designs. Going with just clear drawings, she says, “we just went ahead with making the patterns.”
Susila and her ladies of lace are not unknown for pushing the boundaries. Chamindu Amaratunge, a fashion student who recently graduated from the University of Moratuwa
Mette Anderson
knows this better than most. Susila asked him to participate in the programme anticipating communication issues with her young foreign guests. After being scoffed at for his contemporary take on beeralu lace in his pieces, the freelance designer says it was after much research that he found Susila and the Lace Centre to provide the finishing touches to his garments.
Started as a community development project by the Travel Foundation (UK) and the Association of Independent Tour Operators in Sri Lanka, the centre was an initially intended to build up the livelihood of women following the 2004 tsunami and is now part of a responsible tourism initiative.
It was Susan Guldages, one of the Danish lecturers who stumbled upon the Dickwella Lace Centre on a previous visit to Sri Lanka. Kristine Harper who accompanied the students felt the combination of bobbin lace and fashion is “a
Gritt Mortensen
good one.” With the students being “open minded throughout the trip” she is encouraged to possibly bring another batch of them on her next visit.
Despite being a retired government servant with years of supervising bobbin lace makers Susila still couldn’t help but feel a little nervous presenting the work.
Thrilled to see their drawings coming to life, the pieces, however, seemed to go down well with the students. Mette Anderson, 24, was impressed. Fashion in Denmark she says is very minimal, sleek with clean lines. “It’s remarkable how they made the lace more geometric, minus the frills – just like our drawings.”
Susila Rajapakse
Karianne PoiPoi, 30, is one of the older students in the batch. Having qualified previously and worked as a tailor, for Karianne going back to school is to extend her boundaries. “I wanted to get more creative with the clothes.” Having collected four pieces of work from the lace centre she explains that they are the beginnings of a jacket she intends to make once back in Denmark. Finding it an incredibly interesting form of art she says, “I would use it to make a garment more exciting, as an accent or a tiny detail.”
For 23-year-old Gritt Mortensen the time spent at the Lace Centre has been an emotional one. “The best part of the trip has been getting to know the ladies!” noting that back home the students were encouraged not to sit for too long, and maintain good posture for health she says it’s remarkable how these lace makers can work long hours perched on their stools. Contented with her commissioned pieces she feels “It’s great that the stuff doesn’t come from factories.”
The Dickwella Lace Centre can be contacted through their page on Facebook.