A look at CFW's Fashion Design Exhibition and the Fashion Films Festival

This year’s edition of Colombo Fashion Week kicked off on Monday 25 with two interesting and diverse creative exhibitions that showcased both the rich past and the vibrant future of the fashion industry of Sri Lanka: The Fashion Design Exhibition and the Fashion Films Festival.
 

By Sashini Rodrigo

As part of CFW’s vision for The Next 15 Years, the first ever Fashion Design Exhibition celebrated the memorable highlights of fashion design in Sri Lanka from the 70s to present day.

On display were iconic pieces by celebrated local designers who have made significant impact on the industry, such as Dinesh Chandrasena, Senaka de Silva, Kanchana Thalpawila, Buddhi Batiks, Andre Estefan, Dimuthu Sahabandu, Upeksha Hager, Sonali Dharmawardena, Indi Abeywardena, Charini Suriyage, Aslam Hussein, Barbara Sansoni, Yolanda Aluwihare and Andre Estefan

The exhibition was officially opened by Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake, and ran for the
whole week at the Hilton Colombo lobby.

Once again the creative worlds of fashion and film were brought together for CFW Fashion Films, in an exciting collaboration that aims to promote fashion through film and vice versa. For its fifth edition, aspiring film directors were paired with CFW designers to create one minute-long films for each respective designer, and were shot entirely on smartphones.

The films served as a preview of the designer’s collection before they hit the ramp, and aimed to capture the inspiration or mood behind it. The films were screened during the Fashion Film Festival at the Galle Face Hotel, where ten talented young film directors who showcased their collaborations with 15 fashion designers.

It was followed by the Fashion Film Award 2019, which was awarded to Ezra Roberts for his outstanding short film featuring designer Indi Yapa Abeywardena. Ezra tells us he was a last minute addition to the lineup, having only picked up film-making six months ago since he is a professional photographer. His camera captured a selection of dramatic slow zoom shots of Indi’s delicate yet vibrant collection.

Shot in a range of locations, it brought in a soft tropical vibe that evoked the gentle feeling of summer. Another short film that captured the audience was Jake Rajasinghe’s ‘LOVI Ceylon’. His masterful direction and technical capability brought out the intricate detailing in the designs. What stood out was his use of stop motion film-making, stylised slow-motion, aerial and split shots.

Ravindu Rumesh and Madu had a different approach when it came to their film. Their use of double exposure shots featuring images of Salvador Dalí and psychedelic patterns projected onto white fabric, capturing the essence of Meraki.

The other film makers for the night included, Yasodhara Kariyawasam for designers Charini Suriyage and Brian Kerkoven, Gayan De Silva for Dimuthu Sahabandu, Zeeshan Akram Jabeer for Aslam Hussein and Sonali Dhamawardena, Ayshcharya Pinto for La Pard and Jaish Jayasingha, Rajika Thilakarathna for Fouzul Hameed, Noor Jameel for Gihan Ediriweera and Vathsala Gunasekara and season one winners ‘You’re My Favourite’ (Jonathan Wijayaratne,
Ryan Wijayaratne and Christian Hutter) for Maus.