For those who grew up in the 1950s and the 1960s, the Diplomat shirt brand was a popular product. One of the flagship brands of the Hirdaramani Group, Diplomat was a pioneer in the fashion retail industry of Sri Lanka.
 And as cruise ships docked at the Colombo’s Port, the brand expanded its product range to include towels, bed sheets and other household linens. Diplomat soon became known as the personal ‘tailor for the sailors’. According to a press release issued by the company, by 1965, Diplomat supplied school wear, ladies blouses and dresses and two categories of menswear (luxury and casuals) to both tourists and domestic consumers.
The brand grew in popularity amongst the country’s local population, combining quality, elegance and contemporary styling to create one of Sri Lanka’s premier fashion labels. By 1965, Diplomat supplied school wear, ladies blouses and dresses and two categories of menswear (luxury and casuals) to both tourists and domestic consumers.
The inherent excellence of the selected materials combined with the age-old art of superior craftsmanship in tailoring provided Sri Lankans with garments of indisputable quality at an affordable price. However the domestic market slowed down during the 1980’s and 1990’s and the brand eased out after the Hirdaramani Group focused its business on the emergent apparel export industry. More than 20 years later, the group’s younger generation is reviving the brand and bringing it back to the local retail market from this December.
The re-launch of Diplomat targets a new generation of young trendsetters and is inspired by a combination of classic designs from Sri Lanka’s colonial heritage and contemporary elegance from the post-war freedom era experienced today, the company said. The range of Diplomat products - men’s shirts, chino trousers and boxer shorts as well as a new range of men’s jeans and polo shirts from the new Diplomat Denim label will be joined by ladies and children’s clothes just before the Sinhalese and Tamil New year. |
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