7th July 2011 - Recently, the Department of Fashion Design at Raffles Institute of Higher Education, Colombo, welcomed on board two new additions to their team of International fashion lecturers - Ms. Andreea Lonhardt, a dynamic fashion designer from Eastern Europe and Mr. Dinesh Chandrasena - one of Sri Lanka's most successful contemporary fashion designers, whose clients have included celebrities such as Dame Julie Andrews, Sandra Bullock and also Halle Berry.

Academic Director, Associate Professor Julie Ross is extremely positive about the expansion of the fashion department within Raffles Institute of Higher Education in Colombo: "Raffles opened its first campus in Singapore in 1990 - where fashion design was initially one of the main focuses. For over 20 years now, Raffles campuses have produced award winning fashion graduates. Having an 'industry relevant' curriculum is essential in order to equip our students with the necessary critical thinking skills and practical knowledge required to impact the local, national and international fashion industries. Another key success of our programmes is in our Lecturing staff. Multi culturalism is an essential component of our design environment in the 21st Century where globalization impacts our students on multiple levels. I am therefore delighted to welcome on board both Andreea and Dinesh to further expand our students' knowledge and skills within the fashion industry as a whole."

Andreea Lonhardt adds a wealth of professionalism to the Fashion Design programme at Raffles Institute of Higher Education. Andreea has experienced Europe's premier fashion capitals, design theory from her studies in Budapest and drafting skills from her work in Bucharest. Having graduated from the renowned Faculty of Decorative Art and Design as well as the School of Fine Arts Ladea Romulus in Romania, she went on to work with SC Piera as a senior designer in conceptual development, specialising in Lingerie.

As her job scope widened to encompass increased managerial responsibility, Andreea also worked in research and development, fashion trend analysis, CAD, pattern cutting techniques, client liaison, market identification, fabric specification and print design. Ultimately she coordinated international fashion shows and eventually produced the Intimmi Lingerie Collection by Lonhardt.

"Rather than being purely academic, the Fashion Design programme at Raffles Institute of Higher Education operates more like a design studio - where there are many practical elements taught to support creative thinking skills," says Andreea.

"Students are exposed to practical skills which they need to know - from designing to sewing, at a level which is Couture standard - preparing them for entering into a billion dollar industry," she adds.

According to Mr. Desmond Seah, College Director, "Choice, flexibility and individuality are key concepts for us. We understand that students are individual and have varying levels of talent, interests and goals. Our programmes take this into account. Dedicated lecturers, small class sizes, a personal atmosphere and state of the art facilities are some of the reasons why students select Raffles as their first choice for specialising in Fashion Design."

Mr. Dinesh Chandrasena shares his experience with Raffles: "We want to inspire our students to achieve their very best in all that they apply themselves to. Getting them to think creatively, in a manner which will encourage them to 'cross boundaries' in their design education will help to produce innovation and also professionalism towards their future careers in fashion design".

At Raffles, we produce graduates who are professional. They are ready to assume responsibilities in a challenging and progressive manner within the fashion industry. Our graduates have an enviable employment record, where feedback from Industry is extremely positive with comments generally praising our graduates for their professional approach, technical proficiency, good communication skills, dedication and enthusiasm.

We are proud to have a presence in Colombo and look forward to our students striving to be the best in their field locally, regionally and internationally. Raffles has recently been voted in the "Top 50 Fashion Design Institutes" in the world by Fashionista. Raffles is the only fashion college from Asia outside of Japan to achieve this top 50 global ranking.