Arts
A unique flair for surface patterns
Heshari Palihawadana proudly says that she is a surface pattern designer as she launched her first ready-to-wear collection ‘Tropical Sunset by Ayo’ on Thursday at the Design Collective Store. Heshari is the founder of Pattern Motive and its sub-brand Ayo by Pattern Motive.
Surface pattern design is the process of creating art for surfaces of mass manufactured products.
Heshari Palihawadana
Inspired by the vibrant colours of the Sri Lankan sunset, Heshari’s patterns are influenced by the things that surround her and this collection highlights the bold colours of teal and orange in the patterns of flowers indigenous to the island. The collection has a voluminous maxi dress, a shift dress and a kimono. This way the focus stays on the patterns and the outfits will remain in-style and versatile, Heshari feels.
“A dream of mine was to see my patterns out in the real world. Ayo is the product of that dream, and I’m so excited to see that it is happening and grateful that the Design Collective Store approached me to collaborate with them,” Heshari says.
Having studied graphic design in Northumbria University back in 2010, Heshari recounts that although they learnt how to illustrate and design, they never learnt surface patterns. It was in 2019 after doing a Surface Design Immersion course by Bonnie Christine that she fell in love with it immediately.
“I started learning more about it online and that correlated with the graphic design I did back in the day. I started with very basic patterns and then you get inspired by pictures, nature, all sorts of things. That was when I started producing collections,” Heshari adds.
After drawing the pattern by hand, Heshari digitizes the drawing and finetunes it through software such as Adobe Illustrator while also getting just the right colour as digital printing is colour-limitless. She explains that the pattern tile is then sent to repeat, a reason why it is called surface pattern is because of the fact that it can go on any surface.
“In Sri Lanka, pattern making was not known at all. There are a few really talented people and brands who actually do draw and make their own patterns but they are not very popular for that service. Internationally, it is such a huge deal yet there is a gap in Sri Lanka as pattern making can be an entire career on its own as it is so versatile,” Heshari explains hoping that her collection will help others focus on what she calls a ‘liberating’ passion.
Keen on promoting a conscious fashion community, the brand’s ethos is of smaller production cycles for a niche market, conscious about what they put out there while eliminating any possibility of wastage.
Heshari’s sub brand More by Pattern Motive meanwhile focuses on stationery and home-decor.
Visit the Design Collective Store at 28, Stratford Avenue, Colombo 6 to view Ayo’s collection or check out their Instagram page @ayo_by_patternmotive