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| Sunday, 6 October 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Rita, one of Lanka's first models... : back in the fashion scene by Carol Aloysius From Bible teacher to fashion designing is a transition that could daunt most women who seek a change in their careers in the evening of their lives. but for former super model Rita Fernando, her decision to return to the fashion world at the age of 68 years, after spending the past thirteen years in Bible study is unlikely to make much difference in her own personal life and lifestyle. Says this lay preacher of sorts, "From now on I will simply be combining my work as a student and teacher of the Bible with a vocation that I have pursued for many years." One of the first models to walk the ramp in Sri Lanka, Rita claims to be the first professionally trained Lankan model. "I was trained in London under Norman Hartnell, designer to the queen in the early fifties. "I then returned to Sri Lanka and modelled for Kirthi Sri Karunaratne one of Sri Lanka's earliest fashion designers from 1955 to 1961". She recalls those pioneering years of modelling and fashion designing in Sri Lanka with nostalgia. "I remember training other models for Kirthi and some of the shows we did like the Tuckers Autorama which was called La Rendezvous Della Monde and turned out to be extremely popular. Modelling had just begun to attract young women as a profession and training new models for the catwalk was a stimulating and rewarding experience for me," she says. Having made her mark on the local scene, she looked for new pastures where she could widen her horizons and enter the global arena in modelling. "Italy was my first choice. There were so many well-known designers in Italy whose clothes I wanted to model". So moving to Italy, she continued her successful modelling career in the Italian fashion world by modelling for top designers such as Cappucci, Schubert, Bizzi and other famous designers of the time. Apart from modelling for these designers, she also modelled for several royal women. " I modelled for Princess Margaret, Princess Soraya , Fara Diba and queen Sirikit. These were some of the most treasured experiences of my modelling career", she says in retrospect of a career that took her to exotic locations in Europe such as St Tropez, Capri, Pomerm , Milano, Florence and Paris where she modelled for Yves Saint Laurent and also appeared in two leading fashion journals, the Harpers and Vogue magazines. Not content with being a super model, this versatile woman decided to turn fashion designer - thus realising another dream she had nurtured since childhood. She launched her own line of designer clothes, shoes, and jewellery for models and soon began participating in leading European designer hair shows. After 15 years, she finally set up her own Designer House named Princess Suriya Line in Italy, later renamed la Perle D'Orient . " I started blending the best of the East with the best of the West in clothes and jewellery. Hence the name 'la Perle D'Orient', she explained to this writer in a recent interview. These unique designs which mixed Western styles and cut with a touch of the exotic orient were so popular that Rita soon moved into an international wholesale business, getting her designs manufactured in Sri Lanka, China, India and Bangkok where labour was cheap. "In Sri Lanka I had my own factory where my designs were produced for markets in Italy, I also had my own wholesale departments and six shops located at Anzio, Lavinio, Ostia, Santa Maria Nella and Rome", she says. Did she have a particular theme running through her products? "Certainly. My designs usually emphasised themes such as flowers, animals, fish, birds and other nature friendly subjects. All my styles have a different theme every year" Local fashion lovers can soon see some of these unusual designs at Rita's new showroom set up in her own house at Maradana, which opened recently under the name La Perle D'Orient, with local models trained by her parading some of her latest creations brought down all the way from Italy, on the catwalk. Keeping her local clientele in mind, this talented designer says, "the emphasis will be on oriental designs. I will be showcasing Indian sarees with Persian designs which I made for my Persian collection. They include chiffons, gauze, pure silks, cottons, and georgette sarees which were specially made according to my designs in Bangalore, Delhi and Madras. later I hope to experiment with the Kandyan saree, especially the sleeves which offer a lot of scope for doing something unusual and striking," she says. Rita hopes to hold fashion shows every three months. Why? "First because I want to teach models how to walk on the ramp properly. "They should learn to glide which is much more graceful than wiggling or shaking their hips, thus drawing attention to the clothes and not their body. "Secondly, I want to teach our women how to dress. Most women here just don't seem to care about their figures or even how they look, the moment they turn fifty. Look at me. I'm 68 years old and I still maintain my looks." In her newly dyed hair coloured in light mahogany with gold tints, she looked at least ten years younger. I asked her the secret of her eternal youth. "Proper eating habits, exercise and of course a good clothes sense. Older women here usually dye their hair dark black which merely serves to bring out their age lines. If they go in for lighter colours such as mahogany, light mauve or blue, they will look younger and more beautiful as these colours enhance one's natural beauty." Nonetheless she accepts the idea that she is no longer the young vivacious model she was fifty years ago. "But that does not mean that it is the end of the road for me. "God has given me a new lease of life after a serious illness. Now I hope to make the most of it by devoting my time to preaching His Word and bringing a whole new concept to the fashion world as well", says this deeply religious woman. |
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