Nations Trust Bank presents CFW Couture + Trousseau 2026 ‘Living Sculpture’

By Kavinu Cooray

CFW Couture + Trousseau, presented by Nations Trust Bank, returns from 17 to 19 September 2026, conceived this season through the lens of Art as ‘Living Sculpture.’ The presentation, conceptualised by CFW, explores the depth of couture through a curated selection of Sri Lankan and South Asian designers, hosted at specially curated venues at the City of Dreams Sri Lanka.

Now in its 23rd year, Colombo Fashion Week continues to build on its founding vision: positioning Sri Lanka as a regional hub for fashion and establishing Colombo as a meeting point for South Asia’s design talent. Since 2003, CFW has been the region’s consistent platform for designers from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, building a South Asian story of cultural exchange and market opportunity that few other platforms in the subcontinent can claim.

That regional and international outlook extends into this edition through CFW’s continued partnership with the BRICS International Fashion Federation, with a designer from China joining the Couture + Trousseau runway. The collaboration reflects CFW’s ongoing role in connecting Sri Lankan and South Asian fashion to wider global markets and design conversations.

Colombo Fashion Week Founder and Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh stated: “For 23 years, Colombo Fashion Week has revived, defined and created the fashion ecosystem that we see today. As a high-fashion segment, couture signals the fashion industry moving towards maturity. All the markets around the world that are mature in terms of craftsmanship and artistry are markets where designers use these qualities on their fabrics and garments. It is also a high-end business. Bridal becomes a part of the couture ecosystem, so to speak. We invited Sri Lankan designers who we knew had the capacity to do couture in a manner such that they could rub shoulders with the best in South Asia.”

This season, CFW introduces Couture for designers to grow into, the way Pret (CFW’s ready-to-wear collections) did before it. As a pioneering platform, CFW has continued to invest in Sri Lanka’s pool of emerging designers. Ajai Vir Singh, expanding on this, illustrated: “That was always the emphasis at Colombo Fashion Week. We realised very early on that if we wanted to define the design identity of a nation, we needed fresh input from new minds. I’m very invested in creating a design identity for the nation, because it can serve as a beacon for all our young Sri Lankan designers in the future. To do that, we need to empower them to be the best versions of themselves.”

The presiding theme of the upcoming presentation, ‘Living Sculptures’, calls to mind the intersection between fine art and design. The show aims to position couture as ‘art on fabric’, acknowledging the models wearing the featured designs as living sculptures adorned in innovative, custom art pieces. Couture pieces, by virtue of their custom-made quality, have the capacity to drive trends and business while maximising their value simultaneously. CFW’s Couture + Trousseau endeavours to highlight the immense labour, craftsmanship and depth of artistry of couture design in a never-before-seen Sri Lankan context.

This season’s designer lineup is built around couture craftsmanship, with each collection developed for the bridal and trousseau segment. The focus reflects CFW’s broader strategy of positioning Sri Lankan designers within South Asia’s growing bridal and destination wedding market. Running alongside the runway presentations, the Wedding Tourism Summit brings together voices from fashion, hospitality and tourism to explore Sri Lanka’s positioning in the destination wedding market. 

Nations Trust Bank, Senior Vice President - Cards and Consumer Assets Niluka Gunatilake stated: “Nations Trust Bank is proud to present Couture + Trousseau. Bridal and destination weddings are some of the fastest-growing segments for Sri Lankan and South Asian design, and this platform gives our designers a direct route into that market. Supporting Colombo Fashion Week means supporting an industry that creates real economic opportunity, from the ateliers to the wider hospitality and tourism sectors it touches.”

CFW Couture + Trousseau will also introduce Couture Cuisine, a collaboration that brings fashion and food together as a single experience for guests across the three days. 

Colombo Hotels, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Senior Vice President and Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Sri Lanka General Manager Kamal Munasinghe stated: “CFW Couture + Trousseau is not just a runway show at City of Dreams; it’s an experience that extends across the property, from the venues our guests move through to the moments in between the shows. As a destination, City of Dreams is designed to hold exactly this kind of experience: fashion, food and hospitality working as one story rather than separate events. That is what we are building towards with CFW this September.”

CFW Couture + Trousseau 2026 is presented by Nations Trust Bank with Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams as venue partner, along with Lanka Walltiles, Vision Care, Hameedia and Ramani Fernando. CFW is further supported by its partners  Acorn, Pulse, News First, Ceylon Today, Emerging Media, and Hard Talk. CFW continues to be the backbone of Sri Lanka’s fashion design industry, while creating a fashion ecosystem along with its partners.  

- Pix by Shehan Gunasekara