CFW heralds fashion in the ‘new normal’
Colombo Fashion Week will usher in a new edition of ‘Olu Swim Week’ next month emphasising their theme ‘Environment is Luxury’ with Day 1 on November 12 at the Shangri-La’s grand ballroom and Day 2 on November 13 set in Colombo Port City’s evolving landscape. This edition of Olu Swim Week focuses on Luxury Resortwear with emphasis on the festive season and destination weddings.
“It was time for us to organise this with things opening up, as the fashion industry has been severely impacted due to the pandemic,”Founder and Managing Director of Colombo Fashion Week Ajai Vir Singh said at a press conference on Tuesday. The environmental and societal aspects have been also considered with a ‘Responsible Fashion Summit’ on November 8 to focus on the issues within the fashion and apparel industry in Sri Lanka, he added.
All set to unveil : CFW organisers and participants at the press conference
The current ‘new normal’ presents an interesting scenario for fashion designers, where aspects of sustainability play an important role alongside providing the design solution a fashion consumer expects. It is well and truly the new normal for the organisers too what with having to navigate the logistics of an event of this nature whilst keeping to health and safety restrictions. Olu Swim Week will thus be a hybrid event telecast live with a limited number of physical attendees.
Joining Ajai at the head table were Vice President and General Manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, Timothy Wright; Managing Director of OLU Tropical Water, Amal de Silva Wijeyeratne; General Manager of Liquid Island (Pvt) Ltd. Shalindri Malawana; CEO of Nations Trust Bank PLC, Priyantha Talwatte and founder of Ramani Fernando Salons, Ramani Fernando.
“When we pick up Ajai’s call we know that Swim Week is around the corner and we know we have to hit the ground running. From set-up to show days to coordination, it is truly an honour to be part of this,” stated Shalindri Malawana adding how they’re excited to share and promote their eco-friendly endeavours.
Showcasing at the Luxury Resort edition will be familiar names to CFW, designers Darshi Keerthisena, Charini Suriyage, Fouzul Hameed, Indi Yapa Abeywardena, Aslam Hussain and Dinushi Pamunuwa among others.
Giving us a glimpse of what we may expect at the upcoming Swim Week, Shangri-La’s Executive Chef Patrick Buttgereit and his team went the extra mile to show that cuisine can be fashionable too! Taking the Press behind the scenes, Chef Buttgereit led us to the hotel’s laundry which had been brilliantly converted into an experiential refreshment lounge with decor highlights being mannequins dressed comfortably in robes and origami towels shaped into hanging chickens.
In an ambient blue and pink lighting, the team of chefs wore robes over their uniform as they went on to show us how fashion can make things a little fancy. One chef sewed tea bags on demand once a flavour of tea was chosen while another used a clothes iron to toast paninis. A hair dryer was used to reveal a decadent mousse hidden beneath a melted chocolate sphere. Colourful bags of candy were hung on clothes hangers for guests to take home while cake pops and cocktail sticks of gummies and more were artfully stuck onto irons. For a theatrical effect, liquid nitrogen was used at the live ice cream station.
If this is a little taste of what to expect at Olu Swim Week, it will be well worth the wait!