Stepping out with imaginative flair

By Vinusha Paulraj

Young designers, some competing for the first time at the upcoming CFW Bright Spark segment, share their creative ventures

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Azzraa Thaarick

A surge of new talent courses through each edition of HSBC Colombo Fashion Week. This year 10 Emerging Designers have made the cut to have their work on the ramps in CFW’s Bright Spark segment on February 23.

Tensions are electric as the promising young designers are competing for the CFW Fund award which comprises a grant covering the cost of the winning collection.

Finishing touches are on most of their minds as they introduce themselves to us, just two weeks before what will be a debut into the national fashion scene for some.

Rashmi Yashoda Dewage is a self-taught designer who was fascinated by fashion although her education took a different route.

“Mostly, I practised sketches and blocks,” this final year Business Management student tells us. She took a fashion designing course at Singer to equip herself with the skills needed to create the pieces already alive in her well-stocked imagination.

Applying for a chance to show at CFW with a concept inspired by bright floral prints against rigid monochromatic stripes called ‘Wanderlust’, CFW Founder Ajai Vir Singh’s mentorship had made the creative process easier, she feels.

Tilini Perera, has a flair for eveningwear. Recently graduating in fashion design from the Raffles Design Institute, her task for the CFW stage, is to upscale organic fabric to glam-heavy pieces.

Fascinated by “Bamboo fabric” her collection mirrors her take on fashion- confidence inducing comfort. “Dressing a lady who is confident” isn’t short of an art. Organics are the way to go she feels, hoping to show an entire collection inspired by Bamboo.

Poorni Wijesinghe

Angelina Senevirathne is among the more senior novice designers. Graduating from the Academy of Design in 2002 in the second batch, she went quiet for four years before resurfacing with 10 designs inspired by “the appearance of oil on water.”

Her design identity has always included prints she says, and she plans on producing a series of “mostly dresses.” Previous pieces to grace the ramps of CFW have been inspired by beach sunsets and the endemic flowers of Sri Lanka.

CFW’s attention to the needs of new designers has been gradually growing she says. “This time, I think we’re meeting buyers.”

Azzraa Thaarick’s pieces are usually inspired by her travels. “This time’s collection is about an escape from chaotic life – blacks, lime greens and beige.”

Also a returning designer in this category, the CFW process of guiding them onto the Bright Sparks ramp has “somehow got better” she says. “It’s also more competitive.”

Anushika Perera, has had enough of rules when it comes to clothing. “I didn’t think I would get in” she laughs, recalling applying with her collection called Metamorphosis.

Her fluid, convertible clothing can take on more than one tone and silhouette depending on how one chooses to wear it.

For this University of Moratuwa undergrad, freedom of expression is key, in a world where fashion “lacks personal statement.” Her collection is neutral tones on linens and cottons. “It’s very difficult to find quality fabric,” she shares.

Nayani Fernando is a familiar name on the CFW ramp. Showing at the Resort-wear season last year, she’s back with a collection inspired by “the Platonic way of life.”

Nipuni Silva

Graduating from the University of Salford in Manchester, one of Nayani’s collections have also made an appearance at the London Graduate Fashion Week last year.

“My collection reflects a very basic way of life” she says, “ideal for days when you don’t feel like dressing-up yet need a shot of confidence.”

Sri Lanka has adopted an indigenous fashion identity she feels, which is largely unaffected by international trends.

Mixing cottons and chiffons, for a flowy yet minimal collection she feels looking for influences from the international fashion scene wouldn’t distort this strong local identity.

Nipuni Silva isn’t making clothes. Studying Integrated Design at the University of Moratuwa, her contribution to this year’s ramp are bags.

“There’s a feeling that a fabric bag lives with you” she says creating 10 shape and shade shifting carry-ons. Static materials like leather may look “high fashion” she says, but eco-friendly, responsibly sourced fabrics is the future we’re told.

Sewing the pieces is are easier imagined than done she laughs, “I keep forgetting the drawings have to be sewn inversely to get the results.” The Binara flower serves as inspiration for her neutral tones collection accented with olive greens and navy blues.

Poorni Wijesinghe hopes to show an interposing of feminine and masculine fashion.

Drawn to the history of how fashion was shaped into male and female, she hopes to introduce the comfort of men’s clothing into female garments with the aid of seams, pockets and zippers. A variety of handlooms and patterns will be used in this androgynous collection.

Nayani Fernando

Vathsala Gunasekara is marrying bohemian and bobbin lace. A nod to the age-old craft of hand woven lace, combined with care-free boho silhouettes of the 70’s is her creative vision for CFW’s runway. Letting the lace shine, the colour palette is to be mostly neutral.

Mehar Palhar’s work under the label Gedi Route is also to be part of the Bright Sparks line-up.

The label itself is named after a popular youth hang-out in Chandigarh and this Chennai-based initiative is an ode to energetic bursts of colour. The collection for CFW is inspired by a combination of tie and dye techniques from Peru, Indonesia, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.