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. |