The category was luxury and bridal and we were asked to show pieces which are both in the luxury fashion sector and potential bridal looks. We were also advised to bring the relevant look books and price lists etc.
The fashionable city of Bangalore in India recently hosted CFW X Bangalore a fashion show which showcased two Sri Lankan designers. This is a continuous effort by CFW to establish a stronger Sri Lankan identity internationally and expand the Sri Lankan design footprint across the shores.
Sri Lankan designer Dimuthu Sahabandu showcased a phenomenal collection which stayed true to his identity as a designer. Excelling in the category of luxury and bridal looks, Dimuthu pulled out all the stops to showcase a collection which bore hallmarks of his highly intricate work and design aesthetic.
Dimuthu is one of the island’s few designers who singlemindedly concentrates on his work and aims to present a collection that is better than his previous one. His ability to manipulate and re-engineer fabric is prodigious. There are times he throws caution to the wind as we saw with his The Dark Water Pond collection which he showcased at Colombo Fashion Week. That collection showed his maturity as a designer and his ability to use fashion to make a real statement. The collection he presented in Bangalore was softer with no political nuances but equally stunning. Working with silks, satins and georgettes which floated down the ramp, this collection had its Indian audiences lapping it up.
Q: How did the opportunity to show at CFW X Bangalore come about?
This was initially conveyed to me at Colombo Fashion Week fittings in March this year where Ajai Vir Singh was discussing how best CFW can promote Sri Lankan fashion in the much broader market segments in India. I believe they felt the collection “Dark Water Pond” and its silhouettes were best suited for Indian shows. There were a series of shows taking place in various states of India and I believe designers were allocated shows based on their product, style and its relevance to the applicable market.
Q: Were you given a brief to work to? If so, please share the brief with us.
The brief was to be true to your design aesthetic and your self-identity as a designer and to curate a collection of 15-16 pieces which brings forward the essence of your brand. The category was luxury and bridal and we were asked to show pieces which are both in the luxury fashion sector and potential bridal looks. We were also advised to bring the relevant look books and price lists etc. for retail and buyer meetings post shows.
Q: How many pieces did you show?
Sixteen womenswear looks from which the finale was a western bridal look.
Q: Could you describe the collection you presented in Bangalore?
The collection I presented in Bangalore was an extension of the collection I showed at Colombo Fashion Week in March 2023 - The Dark Water Pond. The 16 looks contained some of the statement looks from the CFW collection and some of my signature draped silhouettes which I like to reinvent every season. The lineup also contained pieces that best describes my love for embellishments, surface detailing and fabric manipulation. All in all, I wanted it to be a summary of who I am as a designer.
Q: What fabrics did you use?
I always prefer to use fabrics in a mix, creating unusual textures and patterns. For this collection I used a variety of silk satins, pure georgettes, raw silks, cotton silks and mesh fabrics.
Q: What was the response to your collection?I honestly didn’t expect the kind of response the Sri Lankan designers received in India. There were so many from the audience that felt the collection was very different to the kind of collections that are shown in India and in terms of both silhouette and technique I think our signature was quite different to a lot of the work that was shown in these runway shows. Most of the show pieces had direct ethnic influence in the use of silhouette, styling and even choice of music so I believe our segments stood out in terms of uniqueness, creativity and marketability.
Q: How would you rate the show in Bangalore as opposed to the CFW shows in Colombo?
It is a very hard comparison as I believe both entities have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Bangalore shows were executed very well compared to most other shows I’ve done in various states of India.
The competition in the Indian fashion industry is at a much larger scale than we can imagine as they are saturated with some very talented, commercially successful designers who operate globally. Strengthened by a global customer base with buying power and the Indian cinema, their fashion show formats are very different to ours as they usually open and close fashion shows with Indian celebrities who bring in media attention and a much wider audience.
However, my unbiased opinion after experiencing most of the shows abroad is that CFW is done on a much larger scale. Everything from the focal point, layout, presentation and production are all done at a higher quality. I mainly feel the shows and productions from CFW are concentrating mainly on the business aspect of fashion, the designers and their product, than entertainment.
Q: How successful was your foray in Bangalore?
This show being my second in Bangalore, I believe I did better than my first attempt. There were a lot of people from the audience who understood the difference in our handwriting, execution and finish compared to their own. I believe we managed to inject a different taste in to their palette which will hopefully open more doors for our designers in future.
Q: What would you do differently?
After multiple designer boutique visits in Bangalore with Fazeena Rajabdeen and the follow up buyer meetings she had post show, we noted that it would be more beneficial in future to incorporate more lose fitting silhouettes as they are among their best sellers every season. I would also bare in mind to incorporate more natural fibers in the next collection targeting the Indian market as most of their luxury garments are either silk, cotton or natural fiber blends.
