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Oriental splendour

by LAKMAL WELABADA

Rita Fernando

Rita Fernando, a fashion designer and a former model, with the aim of popularising local oriental clothing such as the saree, sarong, 'redda and hatte', and other Asian costumes like shalwars, churidas, verti, sherwanis and kurtas has launched `La Pearl D'Orient' (the pearl of the orient), a fashion salon in Colombo.

"It's also a bridal salon, modelling and finishing school, an art gallery and a media and advertising agency," she says. The art gallery consists of beautiful antique furniture, jewellery and utensils.

Rita greeting the queen in the traditional style which was not a practice among the elite Sri Lankans in that era.

Back in her homeland after a successful career spanning 44 years, Rita who claims to be the first London trained model in Sri Lanka, says she received training at Leichter School of Finishing and Modelling and also Cherry Blossom School of Modelling in London. She has modelled for Norman Hartnell, a designer for Queen Elizabeth II in the early 1950s.

Rita worked with fashion designer Kirthi Sri Karunartne from 1955 to 1961 and moved to Italy to continue her modelling career for 15 years.

She then diverted to fashion designing after studying at the Institute of Fashion Designing in Florence.

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