The Colombo Fashion Week began yesterday with impressive associations and inspiring designers taking Sri Lanka’s fashion industry to escalated heights. The three-day event on 5, 6 and 7 February will be held for the first time at its new host hotel, Hilton Colombo.Founder and Director of Colombo Fashion Week, Ajai V. Singh, said “In 2010, we are attempting to break new ground which will immensely benefit Sri Lankan designers and its related industries. If all goes as planned and we are confident it will, we should be a tier 2 fashion week in real terms”.
Seventeen new and inspirational collections by reputed Sri Lankan designers, many who had first made their mark on the Colombo Fashion Week ramp, such as Kanchana, Fahad, Yolande Aluvihare, Darshi Keerthisena, LICC Jeans, Stringhopper and Arugam Bay Beachwear will be showcasing their collections. The event will also introduce five new designers, each with immense potential.
The international designers participating alongside our Sri Lankans are internationally reputed Agatha Ruiz De La Prada (Spain), Alin
Anuar (Malaysia), Alecca Carrano (Italy), Orsola de Castro and Filippo Ricci (UK), Bibi Russell (Bangladesh), Rizwan Beyg (Pakistan), Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani and Sanchita Ajjampur from India.
According to a Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau spokesman, it has been a policy of Sri Lanka Tourism to support events that build image for the country and generate a positive word-of-mouth overseas. The Colombo Fashion Week is one such event. It has progressively grown to support Sri Lanka’s fashion design industry and make its mark as an important fashion initiative in the region.
Colombo Fashion Week 2009 generated significant exposure in international publicity. This year, with all aspects of the event,
Colombo Fashion Week aims to outdo last year’s performance. This year’s event is featured in Vogue, Elle and The Hindu.
This year, the Colombo Fashion Week 2010 has signed MOUs with Russian Fashion Week, Miami International Fashion Week and Malaysia Fashion Week. There is now an increased opportunity for our local designers with an escalation of the committee’s five year plan to uplift the local fashion industry through exposure and interaction to develop its retail potential. The designers who participate and Sri Lankans who view the show will be able to see both, the potential of its own designers and see them alongside reputed international designers.
With the retail opportunities growing for Sri Lankan designers both from within and outside the island, the Colombo Fashion Week 2010 aims to open windows to international buyers. Having registered 4 buyers last year, the event hopes to see an increase in the number of
registered international buyers this year.
Courtesy: Government Information Department
