SLDF opens championing design for sustainable development

By Cheranka Mendis

The third edition of the Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) kicked off yesterday with an island craft exhibition and fashion show, setting the tone of ‘design for sustainable development’ for the next four days of the event.

Extending the Government’s backing for the initiative, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa inaugurated the event.

SLDF, a brain child of the Academy of Design (AOD) aims at taking Sri Lanka to the world via the much favoured apparel industry that has already created waves in the global market.

With the next few days promising to deliver global insights, community empowerment workshops and high profile fashion shows, SLDF is not just a fashion show, but showcases the very essence of the country, Festival Founder Linda Speldewinde said.

“Sri Lanka has invited a global audience to showcase the country’s progression and the energy of new Sri Lanka in a post war era. This is the first festival organised in a changed context in the country where the North and East has opened up and needs to be engaged in the rest of the country’s agenda,”  she added.

SLDF is therefore operating at a different context this year giving prominence to rural Sri Lanka and the unique crafts and arts.

AOD has worked closely with artisans from all parts of the island since the beginning of the year in preparation for the event.

With the exhibition showcasing static products for interior and home wear, the fashion show saw some exceptional shawls, wraps and fashion accessories etc made from local crafts being cat walked down the ramp. For the first time, the festival will open its doors to 300 artisans from rural areas (150 from Diwulapitiya, 100 from North and East, and 100 from the rest of the country) to come witness their own crafts exhibited in Colombo.

AOD has brought in players such as Coats Lanka to support the sustainability cause of the community. The Company has given out thread worth US$ 0.5 million thread to artisans in Gamapha to make saris and other such products with the hope of empowering the people.

As one of the first multinationals in the world, Coats entered into partnership with SLDF under three factors, its Managing Director Giles Watkins said: “Firstly this provides an opportunity to support Sri Lanka overall in its apparel sustainable platform in differentiating the industry as a whole; particularly in the face of cost escalation challenges,” adding, “We all know that escalating cost and actually produce garments that are cheap is a challenge and the best way to address that is an industry as a whole.” Secondly the company looks at the CSR activities and finally it is the business and commercial aspect that attracted the Company. The South Asian Apparel Leaders Forum scheduled to be held on Friday will see heads of companies in the entire supply chain of apparel coming together to discuss varied issues pertaining the industry.

“The current global situation is very challenging at the moment, but Sri Lanka always try to be one step ahead in terms of trying to be different; and SLDF is an ideal platform to display what Sri Lanka can do,” SLDF Board Member and Hirdarmani Grouo Director Nikhil Hirdaramani said. He stated that the design talent in the country has increased phenomenally in the recent years. “There is nothing stopping to commercialise it to the rest of the world.”

TradeCard’s CEO Kurt Cavano who is also down to partake in the event said, “We saw something in Sri Lanka we didn’t see elsewhere: a strong work ethic, a good educated workforce and a great set of powerhouses in the apparel industry for us to work with.” Claiming that Sri Lanka is well poised to become a fashion hub in the region he assured that from a global perspective there is a lot to be proud of. “In a global perspective you have it all going.”