Sharmini Seneviratne:

On a fashion high

by Mahes Perera

Off to Latvia next week will be the fashion designer Sharmini Seneviratne of Silkwrap fame who has been invited to the Baltanic Fashion and Textile Exhibition, a huge event which will be held on April 16-17.

“I'm happy that I have the opportunity to go for this Fashion Exhibition which will help me for the next season – meeting up with designers and buyers who have already seen my collection” said Sharmini who met us after a short hiatus. She has just returned from Milan after being in the midst of Italian Fashion shows which she found to be of a high standard. Sharmini has been in the industry for about 20 years and recalls how when she started off she had one simple machine, but now she has a large operation going on in her Silkwrap factory at Battaramulla, handling personalised orders. In May, Sharmini will be off to Male for a three-day workshop for models and will be taking a model from Sri Lanka for the grooming program.

Question: You started off at a relatively young age, what sparked off your interest in the love for the power of clothing and as the phrase goes the transformative quality of dressing up?

Answer: I had a big passion for fashion. In my childhood I was fond of art and as small as I was I used to cut up my mother's sarees and dress up my dolls. The stepping stone for my fashion designer career was the access I had to the global world and its fashion. I was fortunate in that I travelled to the famous cities in the world, saw the fashions according to my time limits. I worked as an air stewardess after my schooling at Bishop's College and this helped me visit the famous fashion cities. My mother was also a good seamstress and she inspired me a lot.

Q: I'm curious, tell me your career in fashion, was it self taught or did you formally study fashion, and how has it evolved since you started?

A: At the time I started off there was absolutely nothing I could fall on. There were no fashion magazines to gather ideas. There were only two TV channels ITN and Rupavahini. There were no fashion windows. We had a rough time when I started off. I have my own ideas in fashion but I still incorporate my ideas of colour and lengths that are in vogue all over the world. So when I started nothing was easy. Nothing was available unlike now for designers. They have internet, they have fashion TV and they can travel overseas. In our time, overseas travel was restricted.

I feel I have come a long way, I started with nothing and now I've travelled the world, I've been invited as judge for some of fashion shows especially in Male – twice over. Also I've been the official designer for Sri Lankan shows in Colombo, Tokyo, Dubai, Oman. My collection has been successful in Colombo and overseas. Especially Milan it's like a second home to me. I travel at least twice a year to Milan, I'm an inspired Italian fashion follower!

Q: Is Silkwrap still your label and how has your work been received internationally?

A: Yes, Silkwrap still continues. Internationally I'm happy with the success. I have been invited to the Maldives to judge their fashion shows – Michael Wijesuriya and myself. I was also requested to design for Air Maldives and for some of the Maldives resorts. Last month I did the entire design for Coca Cola Maldives – Maldives today is an upmarket place. In Japan I had a successful show and now I have repeat orders from Tokyo. I displaced about 150 outfits for that show in Tokyo. I took models from Colombo – Bianca, Danielle, Sharon and Rozelle and we sold every single outfit at the show. I will be travelling to Latvia for the Baltanic Fashion Exhibition which is a huge event on April 16-17 this year. I'm invited which will help me for the next season – meeting up with designers and buyers. They have already seen my collection.

Q: Were you not interested in displaying your creations at the recently concluded fashion week.

A: No. I wasn't invited. This fashion week has been going on for about 5 years. We don't find any of the known designers. None of the Sri Lankan designers are involved in this fashion week, other than Yolande.

There's Senaka, there's Lou Ching, there's Chrysanthi Fernandopulle, there's Kirti Sri Karunaratne and myself. It is strange that none of us were invited. None of us have had our collection displayed. At the Paris Fashion Week or the Milan fashion week you get a line-up of the respective country's fashion designers, plus the overseas fashion designers who are invited. Here, I noticed that there's hardly anybody well known, recognised models are also not incorporated in the fashion week.

When the fashion week started off, there were no designers from Sri Lanka. Yolande came in recently. Fashion shows are basically buyers shows, not a form of entertainment.

Q: What would your advice be to the youth – fashion wise and fashion designer wise?

A: Fashion designing has to come from within you. It cannot be copied. You must be able to put your story into a form of art, be inspired by nature, colour or climate. Above all, be personalised and have your own identity.