Barefoot unfurls its unique looks
Preethi Hapuwatte: Sarong as bridal wear
A fashion show all too often involves people wearing clothes too impractical to wear even to a party. Models tend to be of body types ranging from the skinny to skeletal or absurdly gym toned. Barefoot’s first fashion show in almost a decade was a role model of a different kind, however. Sixty years young, Barefoot continues to make its own rules.
Its show last weekend consisted almost entirely of amateur models, a mix of the older and the young, ranging from senior executives at banks and garment companies to university students and personalities from the world of dance. The front porch of its art gallery provided the launching pad of a ramp and featured a fake blue and white door sandwiched between stunning striped cloth. The tall cloth panels were so striking they seemed like improvised Barefoot abstract art that ought to have been in the gallery.
Turning its back on the fashion world’s frequently mindless pursuit of the trendy and depiction of perpetual youthfulness, the show titled Unfurl was true to the geography and flora of Sri Lanka — and indeed to Barefoot’s history. Barefoot’s mission statement of allowing brilliantly dyed handloom cloth to be the leading actor, rather than body-hugging tailored design, remained a guiding principle. The late founder Barbara Sansoni, whose birth anniversary was last month, set the stage with this alternative haute couture haiku: Are you an avid saree pleater, a pulling tugging girl? Or do you float in sheerest cotton, And like a flower unfurl? Most of the designers from the Barefoot family had used that and flowers as their inspiration, ranging from the bold reds of the erabadu to bluebells and marigolds.
Embroidery techniques such as the Japanese sashiko, a running stitch from the 17th century that creates attractive geometric designs, was used by Poorni Wijesinghe to elegant effect on a cream saree with wooden beads stitched on to it. The white crochet jackets of designer Preethi Hapuwatte’s great grandmother in Galle inspired a new kind of wedding wear. The crochet work proved surprisingly effective as veils and trains that, coupled with elegant white sarongs with delicate stripes, seemed an understated rebuttal of the Bollywood/Instagram-inspired excesses of too many contemporary South Asian weddings. Said Preethi, “The sarong is so beautiful, simple and comfortable, but it’s not worn as wedding wear. I wanted to introduce the sarong as bridal wear.”
Sophia Sansoni: Sarees tied dhoti style
For a fashion show that had been in the works for five months but fell on the day of Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome, the wedding wear seemed a homage to the late pope’s preference for white robes and simplicity. Sophia Sansoni’s predominantly white sarees tied dhoti style seemed metaphorically cut from that cloth, as did Shaunagh Aluwihare’s men’s jackets in creams and whites.
The all-menswear line of M Fact by Marisa Gnanaraj could have been transported from Tokyo yet had a very distinctive Barefoot foundation of bold oranges inspired by the marigold flower. I was part of her team of models and wore a mandarin collared marigold shirt with cream stripes that I could imagine wearing to a dinner party. For another model, Marisa had reimagined the tuxedo jacket for the tropics with an unstructured cut. In black and white stripes interspersed with broad white panels, this seemed like a unique hybrid. And, the tallest model at the event, 6 feet 3 inches, came out in an overcoat-meets-royal-robes of orange and lime green, that almost trailed behind him. It could have doubled as a magic carpet when not an overcoat.
There was, in fact, something of the mythical all evening. The entire proceeds from ticket sales went to the charity CSF Prithipura. And, a single rehearsal the day before ought not to have been adequate for a show comprising amateur models, but on Saturday they walked the ramp with the infectious radiance of people enjoying themselves while also feigning the swagger of celebrity models. The portable air conditioners in the changing rooms packed up, but, if anything, the show was a montage of effortless cool. Jacquie Mei, a former model who runs The Model Atelier in Colombo, choreographed with an impish inventiveness.
Each designer’s clothing had its moment on the ramp with distinctive music and movement. Even the weather gods smiled; the thunderstorm scheduled for the evening magnanimously did a no-show. Many of the cottons were one-ply and made for sarees of “the sheerest cotton”, light as candy floss though easier to drape. The pallus were showstoppers and would have made peacocks envious. The whole effect was dream-like.
Those large abstract cloth panels being carted away on Wednesday afternoon and a couple of racks of sarees and jackets made specially for the show, which were tucked away in a corner of the shop’s clothing section, were the only proof that such an otherworldly festival of colour did take place.
Poorni Wijesinghe
The writer modelling a Marisa Gnanaraj creation
Mythical air at the Barefoot garden: Nelun Harasgama’s collection: . Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
The designers: Carrying on the Barefoot traditions with pride
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