UNRAVELLING INDI!

Amidst a busy schedule even on a Sunday, we managed to arrange a brief conversation with an upcoming designer, Indeevari Yapa Abeywardena regarding her label ‘Indi’ and her recent runway show which concluded at L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week.

Indeevari or Indi as she is usually called, explains that it was by coincidence that she got into designing, since as soon as she left school she was not sure of which path to take when it came to her higher studies. Even though she was passionate about traditional dancing she knew it was not something she would want to pursue as a career. In 2004 whilst on a traditional dance tour she happened to come across a picture of Marilyn Monroe in a magazine and Indi says that the picture moved her; she was fascinated by the garment the late actress was wearing and she wanted to be able to design something similar and she says that such inspiration brought back memories of her late mother and how she used to watch her sew when she was little.

After setting her mind to pursue a career in design, Indi joined the Academy of Design and at the same time Mr. Ranjan Wijeweera of MONDY gave her the opportunity to visit his factory and familiarise herself with the industry.

During that time Indi started compiling her portfolio which was presented to some of the directors of certain universities of England who were visiting at the British Council and subsequently she was given the opportunity to pursue her design studies at the Middlesex University and later on at University of Hertfordshire.

Whilst studying in England in 2009 Indi was selected to showcase her designs at the London Graduate Fashion Week which was her first runway show and afterwards started working at Henry Bertrand which is a renowned fabric supplying company in London.