Designing
Voyages
‘Voyages’ will be
launched at a fashion show at the Blue Water Hotel on October 18.
The show will be choreographed by Graham Hatch with Ramzi Rahaman
handling the models’ hair and make-up. Jewellery is from Agasti
and the event is being co-ordinated by Emphasis.
Style is often
difficult to define. It maybe in the perfect fit of a garment, it
maybe in a vivid shawl tossed carefree over a simple outfit, it
could equally well be in the intricate embroidery that transforms
a hemline into a work of art.
It could also
be a designer’s inspiration, drawn not from the vagaries of
the international catwalks, but from the traditions and cultures
of exotic lands, where different people wear different colours and
styles symbolising their unique character, that has endured through
time.
Dilani
Wijeyesekera’s new collection is titled ‘Voyages’
and it brings all the romance and excitement of travel, of the mystery
of far-off countries to the Dilly’s label. “It gives
me an excuse to travel,” says Dilani, laughing, but this is,
in fact, a serious passion for her. On a recent trip to Nepal, she
forgot time on one of her rambles, she confesses, and ended up keeping
the entire group waiting, so caught up was she in the sights unfolding
before her.
In the discovery
of varied customs and cultures, sights and scenes, she has endless
inspiration, the opportunity to delve into history and research
customs and traditions. “All this wealth of tradition is the
accumulation of so many lives,” she muses. And so Voyages
will be a journey of discovery for the wearer as it is for her.
Bright-eyed and vivacious, Dilani Wijeyesekera is somewhat of a
rarity in the fashion world, a designer who seldom seeks publicity,
content all these years to weave her inspiration into her Moods
collection.
The Moods collection
comes out every month and is as the mood takes her, floral, fantasy,
fun or frolicsome… Dilani designs the whimsical flyers and
shop windows herself too, preferring to give it her own touch rather
than bring in someone, who may be commercially sound, but less in
tune with her own mood.
And now while
continuing with Moods, there will be Voyages too under the Dilly’s
label. These will be classic outfits for the woman with taste and
achievement, who has her own style. If Moods is more hip, tending
to reflect some of the catwalk trends, Voyages is more timeless,
fashion that can transport the wearer to different countries and
different ethnic styles.
This is an
aspect she is keen on, the chance for a woman to dress differently,
to add a flourish to her wardrobe if she so desires, yet all within
her own style. “There may be a day when you might want to
imagine you are a Maharajah’s daughter,” Dilani says
and indeed, there is an Indian selection which conjures up the grandeur
of an Indian wedding (not gagra cholis, she quickly adds).
Voyages
has drawn on China, all radiant reds and burgundy, and been inspired
by Mexico too, full of colour and flamboyance. On a more classic
note, there’s an all-black section. These will be outfits
that are very mysterious with hardly any embellishments, where the
cut says it all. There’s a distinct Oriental flavour to the
creations, plenty of long tops and tunics that can be dressed down
or jazzed up according to the occasion.
Voyages will
be launched at a fashion show to be held at the Blue Water Hotel,
Wadduwa and this marks Dilani’s first ramp show. Earlier her
collections just emerged with minimum fuss, so why the change now?
“It was mainly because of ‘my girls’,” she
explains. Her girls being her loyal workforce, many of whom have
been with her for as long as ten years and who, she says, have been
very keen to see the Dilly’s label gain more recognition for
its quality.
Dilly’s
outfits, Dilani reiterates, are created with keen commitment to
detail. Fabric and fit are buzz words with her and she has even
created a new size which she dubs ‘LL’, which is somewhere
between an ‘L’ and an ‘XL’. Long years of
recording customer sizes made her realize the need for this particular
size for Sri Lankan women, she says. There’s also an extra
small for the very petite figure and she is constantly looking inward
to improve. Designing is a lot of hard work, she comments, and hardly
the glamour vocation it is made out to be, she says.
Over the years,
one of her most enriching experiences, she feels, has been coming
into close contact with the skilled craftspeople who turn out the
fine details, the embroidery, beadwork etc. that we see on Dilly’s
garments. Visiting their homes, working with them and learning from
their expertise has given her a new dimension, she says.
If the enchantment
with travel came from her early experiences with her father, Dilani
now enjoys travelling with her own family, her husband and two sons,
the elder of whom, 19-year-old Eraj has inherited some of her flair
for design and has his own ideas of launching a men’s range
called ‘The Know’ one day.
A contented
family person as much as a career designer, Dilani’s philosophy
is woven around the principle of being of service to others and
using the opportunities you get to do good along the way. That is
a voyage she is clearly enjoying.
- Renuka Sadanandan
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