Arts

East and West tie the knot

By Oshani Alwis

Designer Wedding Show Galle 2018

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It was an evening of glamour on the southern coast, as guests were ushered into Amari Galle’s Ballroom to watch elegant brides and grooms take the ramp at the Designer Wedding Show Galle 2018.

Michael Wijesuriya

July 28 marked the 31st issue of the Bride and Groom magazine and the event in celebration featured a stunning parade of bridal designs created by the designers from Colombo as well as from the host town, Galle.

Leading name Michael Wijesuriya’s collection saw brides in a mix of cotton, lace and chiffon while Dhananjaya Bandara’s outstanding collection ‘Southern Splendor’ saw an amalgamation of culture and traditional southern values. Beeralu lace- a unique tradition down south was the design element in his traditional Kandyan attire.

Floral Chantilly and embroidered lace mixed with satin and net featured in the collection of Dr. Premashri Hewawasam, bridal outfits done together with Shashi Kumar.

The official saree partner of the show, Sarita Textorium featured brides with red bindis in shimmering lace sarees and striking crimson going-away sarees.

Themed as ‘Stylish, modern and elegant’, Ramzi Rahman’s dazzling bridal wear saw shimmering pink, copper and gold fabrics draped into different styles with the jackets in contrast. The sarees were heavily bordered with diamante and set off by Elly Creations’ jewellery.

Sumudu Wasantha designing all the aspects of the bridal from outfit, hair and make up to bouquet and jewellery presented a collection of western dresses with an Indian touch under the theme ‘East meets West.’

As Jeff Buckley’s all time favourite ‘Hallelujah’ played brides bedecked in elegant A-line dresses designed by Charith Wijesekara, swept gracefully along the ramp, sophisticated jewellery from the Gitano collection complementing the look.

A special segment featured a talented group of designers from Galle. Taking the stage with a little flower girl, was a bride in a stylish dress designed with silver raised- sequined fabric, a creation of Dushmantha Kumara.

Gayani Meddawaththa’s bridal designs saw vintage lace embellished with pearls and crystals while Tharaka Sanjeewa’s collection themed “Kandyan, Indian and Western” had shimmering copper satin with heavily worked jackets in red and velveteen brown. Golden glittery lace featured heavily in Mayuri Thilakawardana’s collection.

Imtiaz Designers- ‘King of Tuxedo, the groomswear partner presented their own collection of menswear while the Kulagedara Mul Endum featured a traditional Mul Endum collection designed by Chaminda Wijesinghe.

Glow, the skin care brand and the Gold partner of the show, presented a magenta, chiffon, satin dress embellished with purple orchids designed by Sheila Fernando.

Ending the designers’ parade in authentic southern style were two dancers in Bird Devil (Gurulu Raksha) and Cobra Devil (Naga Raksha) masks as Theekshanee Kariyawasam’s collection was presented.

The show was choreographed byRozanne Dias.