Paris fashions

By Yvonne Gulamhusein

The haute couture collection of Lecoanet Hemant was held recently in their Paris atelier amidst rolls of fabric. Carpets and tables occupied every spare space as the audience sat on long benches as models wound their way showing off the striking designs. Among the models was Lankan Perine Fernando.

The Lecoanet Hemant collection for autumn and winter 1998/1999 was inspired by the chinoiseries and treasures of the maharajas.

For another age group was a collection inspired by the silk road, the plateaus of the Himalayas, the Indus valley and the southern provinces of Russia. Choice fabrics from Xian to Constantinople.

Lace fragments trimmed with mink, landscapes painted on crepe, silk scarves and jade jewellery all in the heart of cosmopolitan Paris.

Dark circles under the eyes

Dark circles under the eyes are usually unrelated to physical disease or the amount of sleep you get; the condition depends on several anatomical factors and may reflect a family trait. The skin of the eyelids is thin and contains little fatty tissue. Blood that passes through large veins close to the surface shows through the skin, producing a bluish-black tint. Also, in time, there may be some leakage of blood, as with varicose veins on the lower legs.

Dark circles are accentuated when one is tired and pale, during menstruation, and in the latter part of pregnancy. With ageing the discoloration may become more obvious and permanent.

The dark circles can usually be concealed with the camouflage creams that many cosmetic companies include in their makeup lines. Seek the advice of the cosmetic salesperson on shade and technique of application. Those who wear glasses may find that tinted lenses will help make dark circles under their eyes less noticeable.

Bawa's building reborn

By Royston Ellis

"Let ambience be the host," replied the owner of the Gallery Cafe when asked if he was going to be on hand to greet guests.

Ambience runs riot at the Gallery Cafe and it has little to do with the paintings on display, however intriguing they are, but plenty to do with the Master who created the original building.

The Gallery Cafe is the outcome of a unique creation by the doyen of Sri Lankan architects being transformed, by the trend-setter in Sri Lankan interiors, into the most stylish place in town to meet, eat and relax.

"You cannot hang a building on a wall like a painting - you have to find a use for it." The words are those of an American architect, Arthur P Ziegler, and they are displayed at the entrance. It is a statement that not only prepares the visitor for an inspiring experience, it is what inspired the concept of this recently opened art gallery and cafe in Colombo's Alfred House Road.

The building's history is part of the intimate past of architect Geoffrey Bawa: it was his office. The property was originally planned as a client's residence, but Bawa was able to buy it himself when the foundations were at ground level.

He used the space as his signature, creating with columns and an amalgamation of old and new, the familiar and the austere, a ramble-through style that proclaims what a Geoffrey Bawa building is all about.

According to the book on Geoffrey Bawa's architecture by Brian Bruce Taylor, "The general progression of spaces, first through the entrance courtyard then through the central court and finally into the great space of the meeting room and the architect's office, establishes a mood which can easily be felt and which would then set the temper of acceptance or rejection - a great advantage for an architectural practice."

The mood established with the re-emergence of the building as a place for the discerning to while away meal or coffee breaks, mellows the original ambience. It begins with curiosity.

A huge exterior arch, like the entrance for horse drawn carriages of a medieval inn, gives no clue as to what lies within, or even if the place is open. The stranger enters intrigued into a courtyard, mercifully free of vehicles that could clog its grandeur.

Beyond, with a young man in black sarong to welcome guests, is the door to the mysteries of the interior. The bathrooms are on the left of the entrance corridor and are part of the gallery experience. Each contains a rare and evocative black and white photograph by Lionel Wendt; the Gents has a slim-waisted young man and the Ladies a buxom lass.

There are display cabinets where works of art can be seen and then the corridor gives way to more space: an inner courtyard with a small lawn, pebbles, and a long, minimalist pond. Tall, smooth coconut palm pillars support a pair of awnings of wood leading visitors onwards.

The original entrance to the inner sanctum now has a wooden lattice screen shielding it. Through this can be glimpsed an enormous pot that, if it does not qualify in size for an entry in the Guinness book of records, could certainly hold a record amount of Guinness. Entrance to the lobby part of the cafe is to the left, converted from what used to be the architect's office.

The desk with concrete pillars where Geoffrey Bawa worked is still there, but with a new top and a long bench seat. Guests can relax at the table or in the leather-covered chairs that add comfort to the room. A bar counter parallels the desk at the other, the service, side.

The cafe itself is beyond, out in what used to be a dedicated garden. The huge pot is at the far end. An open-sided pavilion has been added to provide shelter to the regiment of wrought iron chairs and tables for two, neatly set out on a floor of brick. Gaze upwards to see colonial period trusses supporting the roof that were salvaged eight years previously from the Navy Mess at Galle Face. Glance down at the tabletop, actually made of cement, and see cutlery, mats and cruets made especially for the cafe, in keeping with its concept of understated elegance.

The view from the tables is of the lawn, broad flamboyant trees and high garden walls, brushed with mustard coloured paint that allows a venerable patina to be preserved. The theme of colour throughout is deliberately muted: grey, black, the tan of good leather, the mustard of the walls, and white.

The brain behind the additions and the opening of Geoffrey Bawa's office as an art gallery and cafe is that of Udayshanth Fernando. It was Fernando who started the Paradise Road stores that have changed the interior decoration of so many smart homes in Sri Lanka by supplying locally-made pieces designed to add stylish fun to every room in a house.

Fernando's experience in what cultured Sri Lankans and visitors adore led him to the innovation of the Gallery Cafe. There, not only the art displayed on the walls is for sale, but also the tableware and other remarkable accoutrements for the talked-about home which can be bought at the gallery shop.

A cafe conceived from a building of such importance in the fabric of Sri Lankan contemporary life deserves good quality food to match. The dishes are like works of art, utilising freshly prepared local ingredients in cute ways. This is cafe food: it is not fine dining; it's fun.

For the cognoscenti of Colombo and visitors to the city, the Gallery Cafe has another cachet: it is the chance to admire, enjoy, and actually be part of a Geoffrey Bawa building.

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