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'Just made for it'

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

A name synonymous with fashion designing and the Sunday Observer fashion pages over the years, an effervescent dynamic personality, no stranger to the ramp, a model, an oriental dancer and designer of yesteryear who believed that all things are possible and moved on to make her childhood aspiration come true, is none other than Chula Nanayakkara Ariyaratna who will once again present the fourth Observer Fashion Designer of the Year 2007 contest, a gala presentation with glamour and glitter on November 3 at the BMICH.

The contest will showcase the creations of twelve finalists with fabulous prizes awaiting the lucky winners including a return air ticket to Singapore while Ramzi Rahaman will be the official beautician and hairdresser for the contest.

"It is a challenge to have to change the look and make up of the models for the different segments according to the designer's requirement but this is the fourth time I have been associated with this contest," he told the Sunday Observer.

The twelve enthusiastic finalists of the contest are Nuwan Perera, Amarsha de Silva, Ashani Madola, Buddhika Samarakoon, Subashini Wickremaratne, Wyomi Ranasinghe, Dhanushka Prasad Ramanayake, Dulakshi Jayasekera, Ann Jayatika Fernando, Sashi Ratnayake, Anne Lambert and Nina Amerasinghe.

While the countdown is on, the Sunday Observer interviewed Chula Nanayakkara Ariyaratna who detailed her interest as a designer and emphasized that the Dress Designer of the Year Contest was initiated by her in order to give aspiring young girls and boys with an innate talent for designing, an opportunity and a platform to make a name for themselves in the fashion industry. A show of this magnitude is a fine stepping stone to success and fame, she reiterated.

"Dressmaking was a family trait." Chula's inherent talent had apparently emerged at the age of fourteen when she dressed her first bride and thereafter created a debut as the first local designer to do a fashion show in 1982 at the Tea Centre and Commonwealth Institute in London.

Chula has been an acclaimed award winner for film costumes as well, in four commendable local film productions as in Sumithra Peries' Ganga Addara, Lester James Peries' Kaliyugaya and Yganthaya and H.D. Premaratne's Parithyagaya.

She also did a stint of designing for Seetha Parakarama of Ceylon Woman Fashion Show held at the Galle Face Hotel back then.

Chula modestly revealed that she had even designed the Sri Lankan costume for the film Mohana Punnahai in which Geetha Kumarasinghe acted with Shivaji Ganeshan and later presented many fashion shows abroad where she trained girls in other countries to dance to Sri Lankan rhythms like Peradiga Muthu Etayai and Selestina, a rhythmic down south dance which were all made possible as Chula herself was an eminent oriental dancer, a pupil of Sujatha Jayawardana and Heenbaba Dharmasiri in her youth.

With many commendations to her credit Chula revealed that she had a packed line up of overseas shows for the forthcoming year which she was targeting at attracting tourism and opening avenues for jobs in the fashion industry. Designing in her blood no doubt and today, Chula's accomplishments have brought her much career fulfilment and contentment of days and years well spent doing exactly what she wanted to do.

Observer Fashion Designer of the Year 2007

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