A scintillating opening item by “Bollywood Grooves”, a dance group of three young girls, including Sri Lankan Nileeka Gunawardena, set the tone of a fashion show held at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury, London in June in aid of the Educate A Child Trust, headed by Dr. Pramilla Senanayake.
Silk and Spice, showcased the largest number of Sri Lankan designers ever brought together in London, and provided a large audience with an appreciation of the wide spectrum of talent available on the island. Most of the clothes were specially flown from Sri Lanka for the event.
The 20 models were volunteers - all busy young women, many of them professionals. It was their first time on the catwalk, yet their poise, grace and confidence were remarkable. The exhilarating music, put together by Arjun Coomaraswamy, created an ambience of dynamism and slick, fast-paced movement. Choreography was by London College of Fashion, and the show was supported by Brandix Lanka Limited, one of Sri Lanka’s biggest apparel exporters.
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| A head turner: Sonali's batik sari in peacock colours of deep blue, green and yellow, worn with a hat topped with a plumage of peacock feathers |
Michael Wijesuriya’s lacy white topwith bouffant sleeves combined with slit long black skirt |
Silk and Spice was in three parts. The first, Cultural Diversity, was a panorama of costumes worn in Sri Lanka, both traditional and modern. Particularly striking in this section was a beautiful Kandyan sari in blue and red featuring the elaborate stitchery of Kandyan embroidery, a dying craft until revived by Ena de Silva in the 1970s. A tribute to the late Swanee Jayawardene, who pioneered the use of tie and dye in Sri Lanka, was the inclusion of a subtly shaded sari in bronze, gold and orange. Chrysanthi Fernandopulle's glamorous black and white batik silk saris brought to an end this segment.
The second part of the show, entitled The Next Generation, exhibited creations by young design graduates of the University of Moratuwa. A dramatic start was provided by Achini Tharaka Ranaweera’s sophisticated black creations. Also interesting was Adila Razeen’s collection, entitled "Recycled Denim," which featured raw-edged denim and interesting use of ruching on the seams of skirts and sleeves.
Unusual red lacing was employed by Chamitri Greru and splashes of vibrant red contrasted with greys and blacks in Jayani Mallawarachchi's bold knitwear designs. Lahiru Priyantha, Uvindu Jayawardena, Sandaruwan Kumarasinghe and Erandika Kulatunga also presented highly innovative creations.
The third and final section of the show, The Contemporary Scene, gave the mixed Sri Lankan/British audience a flavour of the thriving fashion industry in Sri Lanka and featured 18 designers, ranging from 17-year-old Nishika Samaratunga to the veteran Kirthi Sri Karunaratne. Nishika flew out to London for the event, as did Sonali Dharmawardhana, whose brand "Acushla batik" is becoming increasingly synonymous with brilliantly coloured designer saris.
Nishika had created six outfits in "spice colours" of cinnamon, saffron and chillie red, especially for the show. Ramzi Rahaman too, had created a spectacular sari especially for Silk and Spice: cinnamon-coloured, with long-sleeved jacket featuring a ruff at the neck, its jacket, fall and pleats encrusted with amber beads and sequins.
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| Next Generation: Creation
by Achini |
Outfit by Ramani Fernando |
Nishika’s chillie red creation |
It was modelled by Soraya Cader-Ondaatje, who had flown from Sri Lanka to model in the show. An outfit which created a particular stir was Sonali's batik sari in peacock colours of deep blue, green and yellow, worn with a hat topped with a plumage of peacock feathers – a quirky addition to the sari! Anupama Nawalage’s black, yellow and gold skirts and tops raised consciousness of the potential the ancient craft of Dumbara weaving has for modern fashion.
Two dramatic creations by Michael Wijesuriya featured lacy white tops with bouffant sleeves combined with daringly slit long black skirts. Striking in their own way were outfits from Yoland Aluvihare-Holm, KT Brown, Mano Caderamanpulle, Chloe de Soysa, Ramani Fernando, Nayantara Fonseka, Asanga Godamune, Rehana Jayawardena, Darshi Keerthisena, Pathma Maharaja, Barbara Sansoni, Kirthi Sri Karunaratne and Charini Suriyage.
The finale was provided by the Lou Ching Wong, whose imaginative creations always have a theatrical touch. His outfit was inspired by the costume of a Kandyan Nilame: a bolero with exaggerated sleeves and a panelled skirt in vivid yellow, red, ochre and gold, featuring motifs inspired by Sri Lankan temple carvings.
Organized by Dr. Tara Coomaraswamy, a Board member of Educate a Child Trust, the successful charity event also helped raise the profile of Sri Lankan designers, drawing together in one place fashions as diverse as they were original.
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