A touch of fantasy for the Millennium

A Martian and a lady from Venus get cuddly on the dance floor, and typically two minutes later a raging battle ensues. A lion and lioness furtively flirt on the sidelines before going in for the kill, while a snake with an apple sidles up to Eve and tries to convince her to take a bite. Meanwhile a love-struck soul is trying desperately to find out the face behind the masked lady he's been following all night, and heads turn as another masked beauty makes her grand entrance. 

Not the scene from a new-age space movie but definitely a sneak preview of scenes from a new age. The second millennium celebrations to be exact.

Yes, 31st night is just around the corner again, and like always it's sneaked up before most of us even realise it. But this year around it's not going to be just any 31st night. It's the night of a thousand years, and it's really going to be a bash. 

And when you're smack in the middle of a once in a lifetime opportunity you don't want it to be just another night, or even just another 31st night. It's got to be extra special doesn't it, because this is a night not just you, but millions of people around the world will live to tell their grandchildren about. It's a night we've been waiting for our entire lifetime and surely nothing is going to spoil it. 

With hotels and private parties choosing themes such as fancy dress balls, space nights and masked masquerades, the hot topic these days is 'what are you going to wear'?

If you're one of those late starters and just got the millennium bug into you, and if you're looking for something Y2K compliant to wear, you've really got to hurry. And a sneak preview of the hot colours and styles in town might help you get fashionably kitted up for the hottest night in a thousand years.

Designers are having their heads and hands full with last minute orders and have even started refusing to take on any more, despite 31st night being more than a month away.

With each of them having well over 50 orders each and some almost double that, some of their far-sighted clients are safe and out of the rush by now after having placed orders as early as March.

And designers like Andre Estefan who get up at 4.30 a.m. to start work these days, are getting little sleep trying to design something new and unique for every client.

But take note if you want to be thought hip at the hottest celebrations around, there are a few rules you will have to follow.

Black clothes are 'out, out, out', says designer Michael Wijesuriya. 'It was nice when it came in but our people just don't know how to use it,' he says. Michael along with many of the other designers are recommending sharp contrasts of futuristic and metallic colours or soft pastels.

Silver and lilac seem to be the colours of the millennium with well over 50% of the designer wear being done in these colours. But if you want to avoid getting lost in a sea of silver dull metallic colours like gold or bronze will work just as well. 

Orange is another strong favourite among those looking for something different, but other bold colours like red and purple seem to be colours of an era gone by.

Fabrics are also set to steal the show with stretch and sheer materials taking centre stage. 

Sharmini Seneviratne of Silk Wrap plans on having a lot of fun with innovative designs using stretch leather, 'the ultimate sexy look' as she says. Sharmini is concentrating on leather and chiffon combinations. 'Full stretch leather mini dresses with chiffon sleeves or a stretch leather mini skirt and extra short top with chiffon for the body part will be some of the more exciting designs of her millennium collection.

Michael is also concentrating on glamour fabrics with embroidered work. The theme among the designers seems to be glamorous fabrics with innovative work but simple cuts and styles which will emphasise figures and draw attention to the subtlety of the dresses. 

Sonali White of the Haddai label says her millennium work uses a lot of beaded materials, mirror work using Western designs and embroidery such as small sprigs of flowers, butterflies, birds. Basically using Eastern ideas with a Western design. She's also done a lot of work with silver for a space night theme millennium dance at a hotel and many more for a masked ball another hotel is planning to throw. 

While bare and beautiful seem to be exciting a lot of designers with more skin and less material being the way to go, if you're not comfortable with showing off too much or just want that classic ethnic look you still won't be left out.

Both Michael and Estefan plan to use the ethnic and traditional look to enhance their creations. 'A lot of young girls these days just don't know what suits them. They wear clogs, hipsters, belly buttons and tiny T-shirts and think they look graceful. But in fact they look quite disgraceful,' says Michael. He says Sri Lankans' bodies are more suited to graceful ethnic lines such as sarees and other Indian and Sri Lankan forms of clothing. Now don't groan, these don't have to be boring and common. Michael has mastered more than 40 different ways of draping a saree, and this should work for almost anybody. And while refusing to disclose specifics of the other Indian clothing he is working on, he promises they're going to novel and fashionable.

Now that you know what's in and what's out get set to celebrate the night of your lives everybody, and happy dressing! 
(Next week: A sneak preview of Purnima Abeyratne's Y2K collection and what the guys will be wearing) 

More Mirror Magazine

Return to Mirror Magazine Contents