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| Sunday, 09 April 2006 |
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Madri's high road to fashion by Rikaza Hassan When Madri Jayasekera was 12, she watched fascinated as her aunt sat by her sewing machine and sewed pieces of cloth together to form a complete item of clothing. Her curiosity much aroused, she began to cut cloth - measured by keeping it on herself, and sew them up like her aunt had taught her to do. By the time she was 13, she knew for sure that designing clothes was what she was going to do when she grew up.
As she advanced through her teen years, she learnt all she could from her aunt as well as begun experimenting with new designs and methods. It was these first innocent steps that led the now 27-year old to graduate from the Taxila University of Bangkok, work at some of Sri Lanka's respected clothing houses and won her both the Hemat Trivedi award for her designs when she received her diploma at LIFT in 2002 and Chula Nanayakkara Ariyaratne's Fashion Designer of the Year 2005 - beating nine other finalists for the title. She recently made a presentation of four outfits at Fashion Statement alongside Satya Paul and other Indian designers and was one of the only two local designers at the event. Madri is currently busy working on a tsunami themed fashion show for the Women's Chamber of Commerce. If Madri not taken the road to fashion designing though, you would probably have seen her arguing away in a courtroom. "I have a very big mouth. I could sell a refrigerator to an eskimo. My mother always says that I should have gone into law because I'm more like a man than a woman in that department. Besides I love debating." Well, Madri did stick with fashion designing and with no undue thanks to her family. "My parents are very creative. When I said i wanted to go into arts, my mother was my biggest supporter and fan. My dad takes a lot of interest in what I'm doing now and of course my best friend Christina who was my biggest intrigue." The turning point in her life according to Madri came while studying in Bangkok. "They now have the most beautiful stores. I used to go window shopping there all the time. They are so very creative and have the originality we lack here. My favourite label was called 'SODA' - it really inspired me. She is not as enthusiastic however when asked about the state of our local fashion industry. "You don't have that many places to study fashion designing here," and Madri regards education to be a very integral component of being a fashion designer. "There is a lot of talent out there but no one's sure where to put it." She also believes that there should be "more fashion weeks and more designers who incorporate elements of our country into their designs." And while Madri is known to design and stich special clothes on request, what not everyone knows is her idea of a wardrobe revamping. "I turn anything I can get my hands on into a garment. She renews her wardrobe by turning what was a dress last year into a skirt this year. "I'll buy something if I like the colour or if I can't get my hands on the fabric, then change it into a high neck dress, or cut off the neck and add lace, ..." No wonder then that her goal is to start a label of her own someday. "I need more experience to begin the venture," she proclaims so don't expect it to happen anytime soon but that doesn't mean she hasn't planned it all out. "I want to bring out something basically different, something that will bring a lot of class into society." She also wants to cater to the young female crowd. "These days young women are very conscious of their bodies and stay slim, but there aren't the proper clothes for them to be found. I want to make clothes suitable for anytime at moderate, reasonable prices," asserts an earnest Madri. However if you think that this young woman's only interest lies in "making a name for myself as a designer," think again because you might be residing her literature in a decade or so. "I write short stories, poems; I've written a novel or two," she grins. "One of my goals is to publish a book before I turn 50." Madri Jayasekera is also a fully-fledged animal lover and a volunteer at the AWPA (Animal Welfare Protection Authority). "We have an orphanage for strays comprising of over 300 dogs and 200 cats. We exist entirely on donations and we take in animals thrown on the streets, badly beaten up or run over, animals burnt or left to drown in water tanks." "These animals cannot talk and it breaks my heart to see them tortured," she adds with a grim face so unlike her. Finally ask this talented specialist in fashion, what her advise to the young fashion conscious woman would be: "You should never get too wrapped up in fashion. Your clothes should match your personality. Never wear something for the sake of wearing; it gives fashion a bad name. Little is always better." She commands sombrely, "Don't go shopping like you go clubbing." She advises against foreign fads as well. "Street, punk fashion does not go. Some people just muck their hair with bad colour and end up looking like prostitutes. Don't let go of religion or culture and always respect yourself." "Keep it real" This bubbly young woman full of life and enthusiasm looks more than real, bordering ethereal. Be not mistaken though for she is talented, skilled and has the will of a mother in search of her daughter and will no doubt get wherever it is that she wants to go. |
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