Saturday May 04, 2024
Saturday May 04, 2024
Friday, 29 October 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Safna Malik
The Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) is all set to hold its second edition of Olu Swim Week showcasing this
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| Shangri-La Hotel Colombo VP and GM Timothy Wright |
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| Vision Care Sales and Marketing GM Harsha Maduranga |
season›s newest collection under the theme of ‘Environment is Luxury’ on 12 and 13 November in two exotic locations in Colombo.
CFW along with its title partners and sponsors unveiled details of the Olu Swim Week 2021 last week and promised the show would grab the attention of many fashion enthusiasts this year. In addition to that, CFW officials have also planned to host the sixth edition of the ‘Responsible Fashion Summit’ by JAAF Sri Lanka Apparel on 8 November.
The press launch was attended by CFW Founder and Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh, Olu Tropical Water Group Managing Director Amal Wijeyeratne, Olu Tropical Water General Manager Marketing Shalidri Malawana, Shangri-La Hotel Vice President and General Manager Timothy Wright, Vision Care General Manager Sales and Marketing Harsha Maduranga, Nations Trust American Express Chief Marketing OfficerNation Trust Bank Chief Marketing Officer Sanjaya Senarath, Ramani Fernando Salons Founder Ramani Fernando and Hameedia Group Managing Director Fouzul Hameed.
Outlining the format of this year’s collection and theme CFW Founder and Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh said that Olu Swim Week would display a collection of luxury resort wear focusing on the festive season of December and considering the number of postponed weddings that have been happening in Colombo. The designers are excited to come out with their bottled up creativity to bring positivity to this year’s collection with luxury resort ware.
Highlighting that the fashion industry is one of the main industries to be affected severely during lockdowns, Vir Singh said mainly some of the known designers in Sri Lanka own clothing stores and they were considered as micro and SMEs who are thriving to achieve in the competitive world of fashion. Moreover, their businesses drifted down due to the current pandemic situation that has been circling globally.
He also mentioned that over the last year fashion took a massive hit and faced negative impacts. With this edition of Swim Week, the team at CFW aims to uplift emerging designers and revive this creative industry by getting their businesses back by presenting them and allowing them to display their designs to a large audience.
Breaking down the dates and the venue accordingly, CFW Founder said the two-day event was scheduled to be on 12 November at Shangri-La and 13 November at Sail Lanka in Port City. Following the current restrictions, it will be a hybrid event with the shows being telecast live and a limited number of guests attending.
He said they would be hosting a responsible fashion summit on 8 November where they will discuss issues that the fashion industry and apparel industry has faced globally and locally. It will be a hybrid thought leadership forum that will bring together international and local apparel leaders and experts for discussion. Last year the Responsible Fashion Movement worked with CFW to create a garment evaluation tool called Responsible Meter, where every garment presented had a responsible score.
The current ‘new normal’ presents an interesting scenario for fashion designers, where aspects of sustainability play an important role alongside providing the design solution a fashion consumer expects, he added.
“These are interesting and challenging times for any industry, especially so for fashion and apparel when most of the design focus was on occasion wear. Lockdowns robbed that focus, hence a lot of adjusting had to be done,” he added.
“Designers have to study the new environment to create new design solutions in the ‘new normal’. This season is the second one within this environment and CFW remains committed to mentoring, fine-tuning and uplifting with a key focus on sustainable aspects, especially circularity. The ‘new normal’ has challenges but it also presents new opportunities and this Swim Week aims to bring a shift in the mindset and responsible positivity into society,” Vir Singh added.
He also pointed out that the design industry of Sri Lanka was anchored on sustainable practices and it keeps evolving. Close to 85% of designers in Sri Lanka have come through the CFW design system.
Nations Trust Bank Chief Executive Officer and Director Priyantha Talwatte said they were honoured to be the official banking partner and fashion card to the event. The country is in near-two years of lockdown and people are being forced to stay home. This event will be a refreshing and positive move for a new beginning.
“With the economy reopening from several lockdowns and the community adjusting to the new age of living, Nations Trust Bank American Express is gratified to announce another year of partnership with the coveted Swim Week Colombo, focused on uplifting the local fashion landscape. This year, in particular, to support businesses and the economy to revive through post-pandemic challenges. We hope that this event will help strengthen sustainable development in the local fashion industry, boost the dynamic route of local designers and thereby, open new opportunities for Sri Lanka as a progressive fashion destination,” he stated.
Liquid Island Ltd. General Manager Shalindri Malawana said they were proud to be the title partner for the event and it had been the same since the inception of the Swim Week edition of CFW. “Being a part of the CFW journey for six years now is a testament to how well brands that think alike and have common goals can work together to drive positive change. Over the years, CFW and OLU have grown together while striving towards achieving true circularity in our respective industries. We’re honoured to have had this platform to stand as a source of inspiration for consumers and brands alike,” she stated.
Shangri-La Group Sri Lanka Vice President Operations Timothy Wright also joined to express his views as the official hospitality partner for Swim Week Colombo: “As Sri Lanka gradually opens up to the world again, we are also enthusiastic that CFW luxury resort wear is using this rich platform to showcase the work of their talented designers for destination weddings.”
Wright mentioned it was a great opportunity to show the world that Colombo was ready for visitors and back in business. After several months of hibernation and being restricted, many people are waiting for an event like this to show up to participate. As we partner with Colombo Fashion Week for the fourth consecutive year we continue to be inspired by how our values grow together. Through the many challenges the world has faced in recent months, we have sought to be more imaginative in our offerings as we host our guests to the colourful moments of joy in a sustainable manner,” Wright added.
CFW officials also unveiled the main Sri Lankan designers who will be showcasing at the Luxury Resort wear edition – Darshi Keertisena, Chiarini Suriyage, Fouzul Hameed, Indi Yapa Abeywardena, Aslam Hussain and Dinushi Pamunuwa to name a few.
CFW partners are Ramani Fernando Salons as official Hair and Make-Up Partner, Official Eyewear Partner Vision Care, Digital Media Emerging Media, and Mediafactory as Media Partner.
CFW’s mission is to establish, develop and maintain an efficient fashion eco-system that incubates the best of Sri Lankan fashion design. The various companies of CFW focus on different aspects of fashion, from fashion week platforms, creative events, media, sustainable fashion, education-based programs, and fashion brands.
Pix by Ruwan Walpola
