A facial yoga session at the amanté flagship Racecourse boutique by Serena Burgess, Founder of Om Space. 

Intimate apparel label amanté continues to reward its loyal clientele with a series of its popular ‘amanté Ignites’ events at its flagship Racecourse boutique. The series has been attended by a wide group of ladies drawn together by the promise of fun, learning and shared camaraderie.

Most recently amanté Ignites hosted the teams from Saaraketha Organics, Kitsch &, and Flow Health Bar for a session that was a fun and timely reminder- eating well doesn’t have to be boring. Guests listened to the teams talk about their drive for clean eating, and watched demonstrations on using good, locally sourced ingredients to create delectable meals. The guests were then challenged to a salad-off and given take-home tips from the teams at Saaraketha and Flow.

Then there was the event ‘Wine, Cheese and Words’ with a reading by Ashok Ferrey, Ameena Hussein and Savithri Rodrigo. Held at the amanté boutique at Racecourse Mall, the evening of books and banter was attended by amanté ‘Enchantresses’, the brand’s name for its loyal customer base. They were there to participate in a discussion led by Gratiaen Prize nominated author Ashok Ferrey, whose novels explore the fallacies of being Sri Lankan, alongside author, editor and publisher Ameena Hussein and media powerhouse Savithri Rodrigo.

(left to right) Creative Therapist, Seema Omar and Founder of Power of Play, Sulochana Dissanayake conduct an interactive session on parenting

Neither Ferrey, Hussein nor Rodrigo need great introduction to literary Sri Lankans. Ferrey has been shortlisted for multiple Gratiaen awards for his books ‘Colpetty People’, ‘Serendipity’ and ‘The Good Little Ceylonese Girl’. Hussein is the author of ‘Moon in the Water’, nominated for the Man Asian Literary Award, and runs the Perera Hussein Publishing House. Rodrigo is a recognized and respected name in electronic and print media and author of They Call Him Ken – The Life and Times of a Corporate Colossus – the soon to be released biography of Deshamanya Ken Balendra, she both participated in and helped to moderate a lively conversation at the event.

The amanté loyalty programme has been rewarding its members with these events regularly as it seeks to develop meaningful relationships with the women who have chosen amanté as their intimate wear of choice. The versatility of the events are a reflection of the label’s effort to reach out to the diverse casual interests of the amanté woman. 

For example, the first workshop was a facial yoga session by Serena Burgess, founder of Om Space, who taught attendees how to use facial muscle relaxing techniques. Participants spent a morning learning how to tone and stretch facial muscles, increase circulation and reduce the appearance of wrinkles for a rejuvenated glow with their instructor.

(left to right) Ameena Hussein, Ashok Ferrey and Savithri Rodrigo conduct a reading at the amanté Ignites ‘Wine, Cheese and Words’ event. 

The second amanté Ignites event brought in makeup and hairstylist experts Shane and Vinod from Arq Style House to demonstrate day-to-evening hairstyles and makeup looks. For the third edition, experiential travel expert Rukmankan Sivaloganathan of Trekurious divulged his secrets on trending travel destinations, activity and adventure travel and the off-the-beaten path hotspots for travellers in Sri Lanka. Rukmankan began his session with a quick round up of Colombo’s own hidden gems, then taking his guests on an adventure around Sri Lanka with the vivid pictures he painted with word on his travels. 

The next, a session by Sulochana Dissanayake-founder of Power of Play- and Seema Omar, creative therapist, focused on how parents could meaningfully connect with kids over school holidays. The group learnt how to create a fun space for their kids using simple household items coupled with a heady dose of imagination. The duo also shared a wealth of useful reading material with the participants, who engaged in active learning sessions fuelled by what they had learnt. 

The teams from Saaraketha Organics, Kitsch&, and Flow Health Bar hosts a session that proved healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring

 “I’ve attended most of the sessions hosted by amanté over the last few months and they’ve been so much fun,” shared Sharon, a loyalty customer at the latest event. “Each new session has built on the expectation set by the one before, and the most recent Wine, Cheese and Words event with the writers sparked such an interesting conversation-it was truly a privilege to listen to them talk about what led them to writing, and how they have kept their writing alive and engaging all these years.” She also added, “I have been returning to amanté since I first visited a few years ago because there’s always something fresh and exciting in store. These events are a bonus for customers like me-I’m really looking forward to the next one!”

Salad-off’ by the teams of Saaraketha Organics, Kitsch&, and Flow Health Bar.

Guests at amanté Ignites’ health food event.

A makeup session by experts Shane and Vinod from Arq Style House