A chat with Ludmila Bopitiya! 

What influences you as a designer?

I love the whole process of creating a garment, from the idea to the sketch to the pattern making and finally sewing the 2D pieces together to create an item of clothing that fits a 3D body. I love the hands on experience of making unique pieces from start to finish and also being a part of manufacturing the garment. This process of creating clothes inspires me.

As a Sri Lankan designer how do you shatter the local foundations in creating a modern touch to Sri Lankan fashion?

I believe we should not shatter the local foundations, this is what will make us unique in the international arena, what we have to do is take the traditions and foundations and decorate it in a way that will be accepted around the world. Adding modernity into a process doesn’t require shattering the foundations, if that happens we get lost amongst the millions of ordinary designers. We are a very minute portion of the fashion world, and if Sri Lanka needs to make a mark, she should carry her uniqueness in all endeavours.

What is your creative style that is highlighted in your designs?

Fashion is a process and in that I enjoy being a part of it from start to end which is usually not the case in mass produced companies where designers are limited to their electronic devices. Hence my decision to focus on a business, that is simpler and niche and where I get to be a part of each and every step of making an outfit. My style is classic, simple and practical silhouettes that are timeless. I believe in creating clothes that are long lasting in comparison to a world full of mass produced clothes that are not durable. Clothes should be a like a loyal companion to a woman, a piece that is treated with love and remains in a closet for years. That is the kind of clothes I want to make. Clothes should be trustworthy friends that boosts your confidence, be with you for a long time and something that you will fondly think of.

What interests you the most?

Sewing - The complexity of transforming paper patterns into 3D outfits amazes me every day. The technicality involves in manufacturing various kinds of clothing interests me, and it takes a lifetime to master.

Fabrics - They breathe in life to designs that are born in a designer's mind. Technology has gifted us with amazing qualities of fabric that we can use to create wonders. A fabric shop never ceases to amaze me or to inspire me.

Shoes - No design is complete with those inches! Shoes make an outfit completes but some women still fail to see the totality that is attained by a good pair of shoes. I would always say without hesitating that any design from a couture dress to a high end dress will not be completed without a good pair of shoes.

Which Hollywood celebrity inspires you the most?

Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. I love how they bring the fashions of the bygone eras into their performances as well as their offscreen lives and being inspirations for vintage fashion cults all over the world.

What is your advice on current trends?

I am a person who doesn’t follow trends. I mostly get my inspiration from the bygone eras of the 50’s and the 60’s. Classic silhouettes like the shift dress, pencil skirt, shirt dress, and circle skirts will always be in style. Change the print or the colour of the silhouette and tada you are in trend!

Interviewed by Sandra De Zilva