Ushering in the bold and the beautiful
The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (MBFW) Sri Lanka 2021 took place over three days last weekend at the Colombo Innovation Tower under the theme of New Local with brands, local graduates of the Academy of Design (AOD), and New Gen designers giving prominence to Sri Lankan talent, craft and materials.
“I think everybody knows that we don’t need just another fashion show anymore. Fashion and everything else is up for a complete reinvention and the last 18 months, we at AOD too have been looking at how we can realign our entire ecosystem and contribute something for Sri Lanka and the world,” said AOD Chairperson Linda Speldewinde at Day 1 of MBFW on December 10.
Day 1: The New Local featured designers who have been making a mark on the fashion stage at an international and local level. ‘The Future of Craft’ segment saw handloom, batik and beeralu lace highlighted in curated collections before moving onto the AOD designers ‘Go global’ segment where alumni showcased their international brands. The runway was graced with designs from AMESH by Amesh Wijesekara, Nithya by Nithya Lamahewa, House of Lonali by Lonali Rodrigo, KUR by Kasuni Ratnayake and EIGENBROTLER by Ishara Jayathilake.
The next set of collections were from designers who have used innovation to elevate the traditional Sri Lankan craft. Some used 100% biodegradable fabric, others apparel industry waste, upcycled wood waste and more. The final few collections of the night were collaborations between Lanka Angel Network (LAN), the Ford Foundation and Design For Sustainable Development with brands Sulu, Tharshana and Urban Drape. All in all, Day 1 was a beautiful harmony of traditional crafts like beeralu, batik and handloom juxtaposed with international fashion trends to envision the future of Sri Lanka’s heritage crafts.
The Emerging Designers Showcase on Day 2 presented the work of some of Sri Lanka’s upcoming designers and their brands. Eclectic and innovative would describe the collections from over 25 designers including a handful from AOD’s Fashion and Design Textile class of 2021 and AOD Fashion Design and Marketing classes of 2020 and 2021.
Two designers were also awarded scholarships at the end of the night. The Design For Sustainable Development together with AOD awarded the Douglas McLennan scholarship to Sithma Elangasingha for Fashion Design while the Shilanthi Abeygunawardena scholarship for textile design was awarded to Navoda Bandara. Two AOD alumni, Ruth Weerasinghe and Ruwanthi Gajadeera were also awarded for their work in fashion as well.
The AOD Fashion Design and Textile Class of 2021 was the fitting finale for MBFW as the New Gen designers demonstrated that they were going to usher in the next era of fashion in Sri Lanka. From gender-neutral designs, bold prints, vintage silhouettes to unique colour palettes, the Class of 2021 showed they were ready to take on the world.