Taking forward a uniquely local fashion fusion
When Ajai Vir Singh first came to Sri Lanka in the mid-90s, he was impressed with the “creative sensibility” of the country in industries like architecture and interior design. But when it came to fashion, he noticed there was no formal industry. “There was no infrastructure for it, because our retail functioned on surplus stock retail.” People would say that’s fashion retail, but not so Ajai. This was the beginning of a thought process that would soon shape the Colombo Fashion Week (CFW).
Ajai Singh: Counting on the younger generation of designers. Pic by Sameera Weerasekera
This year’s edition is focusing on ‘The Next 15 Years’, and founder and Managing Director of CFW Ajai is keen to shine the spotlight on the future of the fashion industry and how far it has come in the last 15 years.
“Remember those loud batik shirts you would see on the way to Kandy, with the same design but very loud prints? I used to see those and think it was beautiful art, but it hasn’t been captured as fashion,” he explains. It was at this point where Ajai thought “how could we try showcasing fashion? How would people think of fashion?” because everyone, he feels, has their own vision.
For the industry to take off, he believes that you need to look at the younger generation of hopeful designers first. This year, the 15th year of CFW, is significant because it marks a long journey of shaping the fashion industry here. Established in 2003, CFW’s first five years were a ‘grey area’ according to Ajai. It was moving and taking shape, but they weren’t sure if it had an impact.
It began to be recognized in the next five years and the second part of the last five years was when the younger kids wanted to be designers, Ajai recalls. “Suddenly, fashion schools started coming up, retail stores started opening, a set of fashion consumers in Colombo started appreciating Sri Lankan designers.”
“I was calculating it the other day, and if you look back, between 80 to 90 percent of Sri Lankan designers that you see today are a product of the CFW system,” he tells us.
Over the years, the CFW experience has provided a platform for over 30 designers to flourish. But, as Ajai puts it, you can’t hold an industry with just 30 designers. So they have set themselves the task of finding 30 more designers within the next three years.
Hence, this year’s show will also include a mentorship panel comprising Kanchana Thalpawila, Darshi Keerthisena and Upeksha Hager who will conduct half hour workshops each with a different focus. They will also be the panel to choose one designer who will be given the Next Award.
“A lot of people ask me why I focus on emerging designers,” Ajai says with a sigh. “People don’t understand why emerging designers are so important. They are the supply chain. If you don’t have emerging designers, there wouldn’t be a show two years from now. The industry needs them.”
On this note, Ajai works with Raffles, University of Moratuwa, Open University, NIBM and sometimes Academy of Design. The reason international designers are featured in the show is because the organizers want young Sri Lankan designers to get that exposure from designers who have made an impact in significant markets around the world.
Ajai really wants CFW to celebrate and take Colombo to the next level. He has always felt that the fashion week in Paris brings the city to life. But with Colombo, it’s always a small part of the city that comes alive and he wants to change that.
This year, the organizers will feature three venues — Galle Face Hotel, Shangri-La Colombo and Hilton Colombo. The goal is to showcase Colombo as a creative destination for tourists to come to.
“When you think of ‘Colombo Fashion Week’, you connect Colombo and Fashion together and the two become linked.”
In terms of identity for fashion, CFW relates a story which Ajai sees being formed. “I’m sensing that there is a beautiful marriage between the ethnic, the western, and the craft. There’s a beautiful fusion coming together, which is defining the Sri Lankan identity. We are trying to promote this identity, because it’s very uniquely ours.”
CFW begins on February 27 and will continue until March 2.
| International designers with good stories | |
 A creation by Turkish designer Cigdem Akin Some of the international fashion designers showcasing at CFW include: Cigdem Akin, a cutting-edge Turkish fashion designer who has made regular appearances at the Paris Fashion Week. South Asian designer Suket Dhir, who won the prestigious 2015/2016 International Woolmark Prize Menswear Award. Rajesh Pratab Singh, one of the first Indians to show at the Paris Fashion Week -he has been able to take a local craft, convert it into high quality Western-oriented fashion that appealed to the buyers in Europe. “These are good stories to share, because the markets are similar,” Ajai says. |