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| Sunday, 18 January 2004 |
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New designers : Carving out her niche in the design world by Umangi De Mel
The value of certain things is indescribable. Their beauty is timeless and talk about a glorious past that reminds folks of their true identity. Among the things that hold a historical value to Sri Lankans, 'Embekke Devalaya' stands out. "I was inspired by the 'carved door of the past", says the 21 year old Pamodha Barati Udawatte, referring to the Embekke Devalaya. A diploma holder at the Lanka Institute of Fashion Technology (LIFT), she says that the ancient wood carvings which are way ahead of the rest of the wood carvings of the world inspired her big time. "Usually wooden creations don't last long but surprisingly 'Embekke Devalaya' hasn't run out of its original beauty. It's lasted so many years, I've been there twice and I've liked it so much", Pamodha says adding that the designs are very artistic and unique to Sri Lanka.
Her first pret includes the intricate designs and many lines of the shrine, on it. "It too has a top that takes the shape of a flower and a flared mermaid's skirt depicting the pillars of the shrine. The second creation has a top that resembles the ancient 'Hansapoottuwa' while the skirt includes 'Narilathamala' on it", she continues. "My third pret depicts the 'mouth' of the devil's face that's taken off the pillars at the shrine". Pamodha says that she had to make all the accessories she used on the collection out of wood. "The designs on the jewellery were taken off the wood carvings to match the dresses". She reveals that her collection is a set of sexy outfits that are attractive and daring, "I want the person who'll wear my clothes to be happy, satisfied and look totally feminine but at the same time, I make sure that I don't forget to add a Sri Lankan touch to them either".
She says that she admires the two renowned designers since they bring out the real woman through their clothes, "Women are independent and attractive, they enhance those qualities in a woman using their designs". Hailing from a family where none of the members have had anything to do with fashion and designing, Pamodha says that 'nice dresses' were always an attraction. "I've always thought that people should be dressed nice. I was good at drawing and I thought that I'd probably be able to help folks out there to look gorgeous", she adds. "The course was tough but you couldn't expect it to be easy either. The required level was 'above the average' and I had to make an effort to maintain it. But it was cool fun at the end of the day", she says.
Pamodha has been awarded the 'Best surface embellishment' award at the award ceremony. "It's a mini show 6 days before the real one. We've to display our outfits to a panel of judges who'll mark us. It was a big surprise, honesty", she says adding that she never expected that she'd be the one when the rest of the students were equally competitive and talented. Pamodha says that she hungers for more experience by working before she finishes her degree. "I design at home to get the hang of it before I launch my own label", Fashion designing she says is her hobby and everything that she desires to do in the future. |
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Talking about her collection, Pamodha says her avant-garde has a top
that takes the shape of a flower that is taken off the carved designs of
the door. "The skirt has a flowing effect representing six pillars
out of the 32 pillars at the shrine. It covers a large area of the whole
creativity of the door", she says. The door frame of the avant-gard
she says is to show the gift given from the ancestors to the present
generation.
Pamodha is determined not to imitate any other designer but to do her
own styles and build up on her creativity, "I like Tom Ford and
Donatella Versace but my designs have nothing to do with their styles. I
stick to my creativity", she points out.
The show has been 'the best ever' she says. "It was awesome to see
the fruits of our attempts along with a huge audience, that day. It felt
so good, especially when I thought about the amount of hard work that went
into it".
