DARSHI KEERTHISENA

She is an extraordinarily talented, Sri Lankan fashion and fabric designer, who has been recognized and appreciated globally. She is known as the Queen of Batik in Sri Lanka, and she is the Creative Director and CEO of Buddhi Batiks. In 2007, she was the recipient of the Young Fashion Entrepreneur Award presented by the British Council in Colombo, and in 2018, she was invited to showcase at Buckingham Palace when the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange was hosted as a part of London Fashion Week. Her designs have also been spotted at the prestigious Met Gala in New York, where renowned Environmentalist, Livia Firth walked the red carpet accessorized with a batik clutch bag designed by Buddhi Batiks. She has showcased at several international fashion weeks, and has been showcasing at Colombo Fashion Week since 2007. Armed with a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design from the UK, and a Masters in Teaching and Learning Art and Design from the London College of Fashion, she is an alumna of Holy Family Convent, Wennappuwa and St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo. She was the recipient of the 2012 Top Outstanding Young Person of the Year award, presented by the Junior Chamber International, Sri Lanka. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Women Entrepreneur award under the Small-Medium Enterprise category at the Top50 Professional and Career Women’s Awards hosted by Women in Management, Sri Lanka. She is an Executive Board Member of the Fashion Design Council, Sri Lanka, and she was a Former Trend and Design Consultant and a Former Head of Design at MAS Linea Aqua. She was a Former Jewellery Design Consultant at Sifani Jewellers, Sri Lanka, and for twelve years, she was a Visiting Lecturer at both the Academy of Design, Sri Lanka, and at the University of Moratuwa.

She is creative, observant and has a dazzling personality. She is a vegan, who is passionate about leaving a greener and cleaner planet for future generations, and she is a strong advocate for Women’s Rights and Animal Welfare; Darshi Keerthisena.

When did you first discover your passion for Fashion Designing?

Pretty much from the day I could comprehend fabric as a toddler. I loved playing in the backyard of our house wrapped in yards of fabric. Our backyard was my parent’s batik workshop, where they did all their creating. I loved spending time in the backyard, watching my parents in awe. I knew one day I too would be creating batik fabric in this same workshop.
 

Did you always want to follow in your father’s footsteps? Was Fashion Designing your first career choice?

It has always been what I wanted to do. I always loved creating fabric and simply loved playing with textures and colours.  My first passion is fabric before fashion. I am the happiest when I’m in my workshop creating fabric.
 

What inspires you when designing a new collection?

Experiences always inspire me. I like to touch and feel, a tangible experience always inspires me more than just a visual experience. Even if it’s a mushroom that inspires me, I would like to touch, smell and even at time, taste it by eating it!
 

  You are undoubtedly one of Sri Lanka’s finest fashion designers, how do you differentiate yourself?

I like details in a design and experimenting with newness is something I love to do.
 

What has been your favorite collection so far and why?

Hmm! This is difficult question to answer. I love each collection that we create for different reasons, and I revisit them with variations from time to time. Anything with orchids is my favourite because growing up in Koswadiya, we had a big orchid garden in our backyard. It was so wonderful, and I used to spend endless hours there after school. Collections with orchids brings back amazing, nostalgic childhood memories.
 

What's your personal style mantra?

Restyle, reinvent and rewear.
 

In your opinion what are the most important attributes of successful leaders today?

Empowering the team so they empower you in turn!
 

Share with us a summary of your journey thus far.

I was born in Koswadiya, Marawila. A small village in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. At the age of twelve, we moved to Colombo and I enrolled at St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo. Shortly afterwards, we migrated temporarily to the United Kingdom. I enrolled in a school in London for about six months, but fortunately my parents decided to move back to Sri Lanka, and I was re-enrolled at St. Bridget’s Convent. The best time of my life was spent at St. Bridget’s. Upon completing my Advanced Level examinations, I was keen to enroll at Colombo University. However, the university didn’t offer any undergraduate degrees in Fashion Design. Hence, I enrolled at the Raffles La Salle Institute in Singapore for a year and from thereon moved onto Birmingham City University, UK to complete my BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design. Upon returning back to Sri Lanka, I got an opportunity to join Brandix as a Product Development Executive. Within a short period of time, I was invited to be one of their first in-house Designers. I worked at Brandix for a period of five years. In 2006, I joined our family business, Buddhi Batiks and created my first solo collection for a fashion show held at the Fort Railway Station by the Embassy of France.
 

Do you ever think – “Am I crazy?"

Always! Several times a day.
 

Who do you look up to for inspiration or mentorship?

My parents as they managed to promote local crafts in international markets and they were also able to educate both my brother and I internationally with money they made on their own doing what they truly loved.
 

Your biggest regret?

Not having five kids. I love children. But I only have one daughter, Arya. I wish I had more.
 

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Being able to work with amazing women who I’ve known for several years and to also be given an opportunity to exhibit at Buckingham Palace representing Sri Lankan fashion.
 

What do you want to achieve next?

To promote local batik on an international platform. I would love to see our fabrics displayed at international fashion weeks and being used my world-renowned designers and fashion houses.
 

If you could go back and tell yourself one thing before beginning your career what would it be?

I would teach myself better time management skills.
 

Have you been harassed or discriminated against? 

Luckily, I have never experienced harassment or gender-based discrimination.
 

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

  Working with and helping local craft artisans to build their own businesses, especially helping and assisting more female entrepreneurs.
 

Share with us a secret no-one else knows?

I’m pretty good with tools! I’m a bit of a mechanic.  
 

How much of a challenge has it been to create a collection that adheres to the principles of circularity?

With over fifty years of history, Buddhi Batiks has always strived to do better in the way we create. We have learned over the years clothes aren’t going to change the world, but how we make them will. We have embarked on a journey to be a circular economy within our organisation. We recently built a water purifying system to clean the waste water. We re-use this cleaned water for our plants, washrooms, etc. We try to use all parts of the fabric our team creates with minimum wastage. We look for best dyes that are bio degradable and are certified. It’s a journey, and I know we have progressed, but not yet perfected.
 

Share with us details of your collection for Colombo Fashion Week?

Our collection is inspired by many things. Multi-wear, convertible garments with the ability to be worn and styled differently, enabling each piece to be restyled and re-worn multiple ways, giving it more than one look. Most people aren’t keen on re-wearing an outfit for multiple occasions. They don’t want to be photographed wearing the same piece. Hence, we want to give our clients the option of being able to restyle the same piece. This also helps us to promote the message, it’s cooler to help the planet by investing in well-made clothes than last a longer period of time. Some pieces are reversible with different styling options. The batik motifs have been inspired by a nostalgic revisit to the orchid garden at the Buddhi Batiks warehouse in Koswadiya. During the pandemic, I started watching Korean dramas and listening to K-Pop music; hence some of the silhouettes are inspired by their historical outfits combined with comfortable resort silhouettes. We have also included some classic silhouettes that we created pre-pandemic. The overall feel of the collection celebrates locally-crafted fabrics inspired by luxury K-Pop and historical Korean attire.
 

How does participating at Colombo Fashion Week benefit your brand?

CFW is well-reputed locally and internationally. It has created a platform for many designers to reveal their new collections at a sought-after, well attended event in Colombo. Designers are also able to enjoy extensive coverage in the media; Print, Electronic and Digital. This is an enormous opportunity for all designers, especially for Emerging Designers.
 

Favorite International Designer?

Alexander McQueen.
 

Name one woman you admire, locally or internationally?

Shanika Amarasekara, Non-Executive Board Member, London Stadium and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. She is also a General Counsel at the British Business Bank.
 

How do you want to be remembered one day?

As someone who gave a new lease of life to the Sri Lankan batik industry and as someone who inspired younger designers to start their own businesses. Also, I would like to remembered as a good daughter, wife and mother; the three most important roles in my life.