| Mirror
Magazine |
||||
|
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. 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 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. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Designing
Voyages
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.
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.
