Tremendous opportunity to market men’s clothing in Sri Lanka

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Shimalka Bodaragama had a dream of becoming a fashion designer while she was an air stewardess flying for SriLankan Airlines soon after completing her Advanced Level Examination in 2006.

She was a student at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Balika Vidyalaya in Colombo 7. She drew inspiration from her mother to become a fashion designer. Her mother too was a fashion designer in leather goods. Shimalka ventured into fashion designing despite her busy flight schedule.

She wanted to emulate and follow in the footsteps of her mother. Shimalka preferred to become a fashion designer in men’s clothing. Asked why she preferred men’s clothing to women’s she said the potential for men’s clothing was good. “When men want to buy something they just buy without wasting time. They do not make a fuss over it, unlike women,” she said.

While being employed as a flight stewardess, she completed her diploma in fashion designing at the Lanka Institute of Fashion Technology in 2007-2008. “I was the only girl in my batch who took to men’s fashion designing. I had the opportunity to see fabrics and clothing while flying to Paris and London.” However, she stopped flying in 2009 to concentrate on her final examination in fashion designing. She took a plunge into business by manufacturing men’s shirts and bags. She started her business in a small way and it has grown during the past few years. “I design them purely on customer preference and do not repeat the same design. I supply to Odel fashions.

Asked what her projections for the future are she said, she intends to launch a clothing store in the future. She also intends to revive her father’s leather factory in Seeduwa.