In a pandemic which has caused the world to slow down its pace and re-think its priorities, Colombo Fashion Week has adopted a theme of Green Conscious and Earth Sensitive. At its very core the new season will place special emphasis on societal and environmental wellbeing.

Scheduled to take place from 24th- 26th February CFW will showcase a selection of Emerging Designers alongside established Sri Lankan designers. Adding international flavour will be well known designers from India Suket Dhir, Urvashi Kaur and Zaheer Abbas from Pakistan.

Flying the flag for Sri Lanka are Achala Leekoh, Amilani Perera, Charini Suriyage, Dimuthu Sahabandu, Divya Jayawickrame, Fouzul Hameed, Himashi Wijeweera, Indi Yapa Abeywardene, Kamil Hewavitharana, Lovi Ceylon, Nilusha Maddumage and Sonali Dharmawardene. One of the most eagerly anticipated segments of CFW are the Emerging Designers. Under the guidance of The Emerging Designers include the dynamic Akarsh Paranavithana, Harinda Gunawardene, Mikhail Hameed amongst Chamanka Hewage, Githmi Samarasekera, Hashintha Halwala, Hirushi Jayatilake and Prasadi Weerakkodi.  They will  be vying for the  coveted Italian Award for High Potential Emerging Designer at Colombo Fashion Week and the HSBC Fashion Fund for Emerging Designers.

One of the biggest issues faced by the emerging designers is the cost of raw materials.  The HSBC Fashion Fund aims to help rejuvenate and spur creativity and innovation within Sri Lanka’s fashion and design industry which has faced severe challenges since 2020 with newcomers facing business closures and other hardships.

Commenting on CFW’s Emerging Design Programme Founder and President of CFW Ajai Vir Singh said ““Our Emerging Designer programme is very personal to me and remains one of our most important initiatives. We embarked on it very early on in our journey as there weren’t many designers when we began in 2003. Thus, developing design talent became a priority and has remained so till now, and it will continue to remain so for the foreseeable future, as Sri Lanka is a growing and emerging market in terms of fashion design. We hope to gain more traction for this initiative in 2022, and move to even bigger things in the future.”

One of the highlights this season is expected to be the collaboration between CFW and Sri Lanka’s oldest conservation body established in 1894, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka to celebrate Colombo’s wetlands marking World Wetland Day and WNPS’s Wetland Month alongside the glitz and glamour of Fashion Week. 

This season is the second year that UNFPA partners with CFW to bring attention to sexual and gender-based exploitation of women.  The fashion industry boasts of healthy women participation in its supply chain, making them important  stakeholders. This aspect of societal wellbeing plays an important role in arresting this exploitation. Designer Amilani  Perera integrates this aspect in her collection which will be shown at CFW.