Arts

Two diverse takes of CFW

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Talking fashion: Rosy Senanayake and CFW founder and Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh at the opening of the exhibition

This year’s edition of Colombo Fashion Week kicked off on Monday with two interesting and diverse exhibitions that showcased both the rich past and the industry–The Fashion Design Exhibition and the Fashion Films Festival.

As part of CFW’s vision for The Next 15 Years, the first ever Fashion Design Exhibition celebrated memorable highlights of local fashion design from the 70s to the present day.

On display were pieces by leading local designers who have made a significant impact on the industry, such as Dinesh Chandrasena, Senaka de Silva, Kanchana Thalpawila, Buddhi Batiks, Andre Estefan, Dimuthu Sahabandu, Upeksha Hager, Sonali Dharmawardena, Indi Abeywardena, Charini Suriyage, Aslam Hussein, Barbara Sansoni, Yolanda Aluwihare and Andre Estefan.

The exhibition was officially opened by Colombo’s Mayor Rosy Senanayake, and ran for the whole week at the Hilton Colombo lobby.

For its fifth edition, CFW Fashion Films paired aspiring film directors with CFW designers to create one minute-long films for each respective designer, all shot entirely on smartphones. The films served as a preview of the designer’s collection before they hit the ramp, and aimed to capture the inspiration or mood behind it.

The films were screened during the Fashion Film Festival at the Galle Face Hotel, where ten talented young film directors showcased their collaborations with 15 fashion designers. It was followed by the Fashion Film Award 2019, which was awarded to Ezra Roberts for his outstanding short film featuring designer Indi Yapa Abeywardena.

Ezra tells us he was a last minute addition to the lineup, having only picked up film-making six months ago since he is a professional photographer. His camera captured a selection of dramatic slow zoom shots of Indi’s delicate yet vibrant collection. Shot at a range of locations, it brought in a soft tropical vibe.

The other film makers for the night included Yasodhara Kariyawasam for designers Charini Suriyage and Brian Kerkoven, Jake Rajasinghe for LOVI Ceylon, Ravindu and Madu for Meraki, Gayan De Silva for Dimuthu Sahabandu, Zeeshan Akram Jabeer for Aslam Hussein and Sonali Dhamawardena, Ayshcharya Pinto for La Pard and Jaish Jayasingha, Rajika Thilakarathna for Fouzul Hameed, Noor Jameel for Gihan Ediriweera and Vathsala Gunasekara and season one winners ‘You’re My Favourite’ (Jonathan Wijayaratne, Ryan Wijayaratne and Christian Hutter) for Maus.