Tropical BY Spa Ceylon
This week I got myself dressed in everything Sri Lankan, soft, easy, Lankan loving shirts designed by Spa Ceylon. Spa Ceylon is a home grown brand which is loved and treasured worldwide and we can all be proud of it, and you might have seen a few fashion collections shown at fashion weeks, which inspired the team to work on a collection that captures all aspects of the island called “tropical” by Spa Ceylon. These shirts are vibrant, and are statement pieces yet so comfortable you can dress it up with a jacket and be resort chic or dress it down for a relaxed Sunday. I got a chance to catch up with Shalin Balasuriya the man who made the brand come alive, as we posed away for an exclusive Fashionably Danu shoot.
QWHAT MADE SPA CEYLON GET INTO FASHION? AND HOW HAS IT BEEN?
We have been in resort wear for 3 years commercially. It was a customer driven decision. Our customers loved the Spa Ceylon designs so much they kept asking for a clothing line. Given the vibrancy and Ceylonese art inspired design, it naturally lent itself to a resort wear range. The range has ladies resort wear, shawls, sarongs, wraps, beach bags, beach towels and this is the second edition of men’s shirts.
QWHAT HAS BEEN THE INSPIRATION FOR THE DESIGNS AND THE RANGE OF COLOURS?
The range encapsulates the vibrancy of the island which is brought to life through the rich colours and motifs from the grand palaces of ancient Ceylon through a batik inspired printing on natural fabric.
Q TELL ME ABOUT THE LOOKS YOU HAVE FEATURED ON ME TODAY?
The men’s shirts come in two styles. The long sleeve slim cut shirts with buttoned down collars are ideal for evening resort wear and the camp collar short sleeve shirts which are very much on trend right now. The natural fabrics are ideal for tropical resort wear as they breathe very well. The shirts come in 11 different tropical designs.
QTHE CUT IS WHAT MAKES A SHIRT STAND OUT. HOW DID YOU WORK ON THE BLOCKS AND WOULD YOU SAY THIS SHIRT IS NICE FITTED OR RELAXED?
We kept the cuts fairly basic as the prints are the key feature of the shirts. That being said the evening wear long sleeve shirt is a slimmer cut with the camp collar short sleeve shirts having a more relaxed fit.
Q HAS ANY OF YOUR PERSONAL STYLE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE COLLECTION?
The designing was done by our in-house design team so I did get to add in some personal preferences like the button down collars on the long sleeved shirts.
QWHAT ARE THE OPTIONS YOU HAVE AVAILABLE FOR THE LADIES?
The ladies range has kaftans, slips, wraps, tank tops, shorts, sarongs, jump suits and beach bags.
QWHAT HAS BEEN SPA CEYLON'S BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO FASHION?
Much like everything Spa Ceylon does, we draw our inspiration from the beauty and vibrancy of our home island's natural beauty and culture. All designs are inspired by Ceylonese palace art which are a big part of the brand.
QWHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BRAND? HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAS SPA CEYLON MOVED TO AND WOULD THE FASHION BRAND MAKE ITS WAY INTO THESE COUNTRIES TOO?
We have two new locations opening this week in Croatia and Bulgaria taking us to 94 locations in 23 countries. The international growth will continue into 2020 with the goal of hitting 200 locations by the end of the Finacial year.
QWHAT ACCORDING TO YOU IS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF BEING IN THIS INDUSTRY?
Spa Ceylon has now evolved to be a lifestyle brand across industries and the thing the team enjoys the most is the ability to take a little piece of our country to every new international location we go.
QWILL THIS RANGE BE AVAILABLE AT ALL SPA CEYLON LOCATIONS?
To start with, the range will be at The Royal Spa and Store Colombo 3, Dutch Hospital, Colombo 4 , Park Street, Galle and Negombo.
“These shirts are vibrant and are statement pieces, yet so comfortable you can dress it up with a jacket and be resort chic”