Italian Award for High-Potential Emerging Designer at Colombo Fashion Week

Italy’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Rita Manella with Colombo Fashion Week Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh 

• CFW’s Next Gen Award returns in association with the Italian Embassy

Colombo Fashion Week 2022 (CFW) will see the evolution of the Award for High-Potential Emerging Designer, an exciting and empowering award category, in association with the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka. This annual award, which has been part of Colombo Fashion Week in some form since 2012, recognises the emerging designer with the highest potential. 

The return of this award, as a much larger and more significant accolade under the new partnership with the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka, underscores Colombo Fashion Weeks commitment to formally recognising upcoming emerging designers. Given Italy’s prominence, both in terms of global fashion and as a major export destination for Sri Lanka’s apparel sector, the support of the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka gives this Award a whole new level of recognition and importance.

The Emerging Designer program has been a mainstay of HSBC Colombo fashion Week since its early years, and is a product of CFW’s design development system, which provides guidance, mentorship and knowledge to enhance the skills of new generations of designers. 

This development system is one of the pillars of the CFW Accelerate program, which provides designers with the relevant knowledge, funding opportunities, entrepreneurial direction, training and mentorship in responsible fashion. The system evolves regularly to include relevant protocols and processes to empower designers in the world of fashion. Thus, the award for High-Potential Emerging Designer will add a new dimension and aspect to developing fashion design in Sri Lanka. 

Expressing her sentiments about the partnership, Italy’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Rita Manella said, “I’m very happy and honoured to establish this partnership with Colombo Fashion Week. Sri Lanka is a major centre in terms of apparel manufacturing for many markets, Italy in particular. In 2021, Italy was the fifth most important export destination for apparel products of Sri Lankan origin, recording a growth of almost 27% in total exports, compared with previous years, a large part of that being apparel. However, Sri Lanka still has room to encourage creativity, refine technique and consolidate a degree of craftsmanship which can further increase the “internationalisation” of its products. I believe that CFW is a powerful incubator of ideas for emerging fashion designers and, thus, an excellent stage upon which to showcase their progress and maturity. Therefore, by supporting this Award, we intend to establish a long-lasting collaboration, which can encourage these efforts towards a better positioning of Sri Lankan products in the global marketplace”.

Italy remains one of the centres of global fashion and design with Milan considered as one of the fashion capitals of the world. Thus, this collaboration will play an important role in recognising and supporting one high-potential designer every year. Overall, the award will open up new opportunities for designers and create an environment that is ideally suited to the growth of new ideas and sustainable fashion.

Colombo Fashion Week Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh added, “The Emerging Designer program is at the heart of CFW, it reflects the developmental nature of our organisation. I am, therefore, thrilled to announce that the Embassy of Italy has come forward to collaborate with us to introduce this award, along with other impactful value additions. This annual award will go a long way in supporting budding Sri Lankan talent as Italy has a tremendous heritage in fashion, providing this initiative great potential for giving new and emerging talent due recognition and visibility.”

The award for High-Potential Emerging Designer will also entitle the winner to a cash prize and a scholarship at a prominent fashion school in Milan, Italy. Additionally, as part of the arrangement, the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka will also facilitate knowledge-based workshops for fashion and design enthusiasts through CFW, to support the creation of a conducive ecosystem for design  development.

In 2021, there were 120 applications for the Emerging Designer showcase of HSBC Colombo Fashion Week, which was the highest number of applications ever received, attesting to CFW’s pivotal role as a development platform that continues to have a positive impact on fashion and design in Sri Lanka, year after year. 2022 will mark the nineteenth year of Colombo Fashion Week, which was founded in 2003, with the events scheduled to be held on the 24, 25 and 26 February 2022.