Designers at Mercedes Benz Sri Lanka Design Festival
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion & Apparel Awards Sri Lanka is scheduled to be held as the pinnacle event of the Mercedes-Benz runways at the Sri Lanka Design Festival to be held from November 27-29. As an international event that celebrates the ground-breaking capabilities of the local fashion manufacturing industry and retail sector, it attracted a large number of applications this year. The finalists for this coveted award were announced at a glamorous event recently held at the DIMO800 Mercedes-Benz centre. Speaking to the Daily Mirror Life, these finalists shared stories about their collections and their views about being a part of MBSLDF.
Emerging Talent Fashion Runway Participants
Wathmi Hasara
My designs are based on a theme which reflects the 1940s post war era. I have chosen women’s fashion and the entire collection is white. I have also made use of pylon lines to show the structural lines and in addition to that I have also used poppy flowers. Here the poppy flowers are not the typical red ones but they too are white.
Michelle Jayatunga
My collection is based on the metamorphosis of a dragonfly, molded with the decadence of La Belle Epoque, diaphanous lace, silken embroidery, and delicate beadwork fused withthe intricate structural lattice of the dragonfly and the fluidity of its flight. Behind every component, every stitch and every hue, there is a reason, there is a story I think worth telling. The collection I have mirrors my own life through a rose lens and growth and the metamorphosis of a dragonfly coupled with La Belle Époque France and its trans-formative art and architecture. It’s quite an amazing experience to be a part of Mercedes Benz Sri Lanka Design Festival.
Amesh Wijesekara
I believe that the power of change and its irony is what creates society and design. My design philosophy is to merge the physical and the emotional. It creates a connection between the garment and its wearer. Detaching from the physical world, I explored the cycle of our existence and its impermanence. Things we consume, they all perish and unfold including ourselves. To me, it is a beautiful mystery. Boundaries are for the conventional I believe. Breaking them opens up an array of possibilities and I like to look at design with no limitations.
Clothing has no gender I feel, giving the wearer a new definition of being undefined and makes the wearer unique, sophisticated, strong and independent. A juxtaposition of life, society, culture, art and philosophy is what inspires me. As a finalist at the Mercedes Benz fashion and apparel awards 2015 (student / graduate- industry design collaboration award) MBSLDF is an amazing platform for emerging designers and a great opportunity to showcase our work to industry across an international audience. Thank you AOD and MBSLDF.
Kalpani Nandarathne
Inspiration that comes from within and transforms the ordinary to the extra ordinary is worth recognition and is reborn through many generations. I choose to express emotions from moments in history through my designs, seeing it as my contribution in keeping them alive. My designs are very masculine and perfectly fitted tailored bespoke garments are a passion to me. Uniqueness and the love for perfection goes hand in hand when making my designs come to life, bringing out the true inner strength of an independent strong young woman manifested in the translation of emotions.
Joan of Arc was no ordinary woman. By the tender age of nineteen she had already proven herself as a warrior, a soldier, a survivor.I found the positivity of such a character very inspirational and meaningful. The idea of choosing her as the centre and key to all my designs allowed me to embark on researching her incredible journey as a young yet remarkably strong woman. The very masculine designs show the soldier inside every woman and exposes out the warrior in all of us. It's been a great adventure working with this project. I can honestly say I feel even more confident now to face the future challenges and I am grateful for Academy Of Designs for giving me this wonderful opportunity.
Mekhala Gunasena
"Frolic Accents" is a collection inspired by an amalgamation of 1930’s sportswear and the structural art work of selected structuralist’s such as Anthony Caro and Henry Moore. This collection for Spring / Summer '16 conveys a graphical, off kilter, contemporary clothing with sporty accents. Masculine shirting, wide-leg, loose trousers and straight-down dresses that gave no hint of feminine curve are depicted by the collection. The collection is based on pattern making pathway yet it has surface details in sublimation prints, screen prints, embroidery and laser cuts.
The print inspiration for the collection comes from the (end of 1930’s) World War II Letters shared between soldiers and their loved ones and the messaging system used during war times which is called ‘Morse code’. So it is mainly typographical prints with numerical and geometrical shapes building a graphical feel in to the collection. SLDF Emerging Talent Runaway is a great opportunity for us to showcase our design talents to the industry and foreign individuals.
AOD 1st Year Jeans Project (Emerging Talent)
The Jeans Projects focuses on the design and construction of the perfect pair of jeans Each student designers researches the history of jeans and selects a brand for which they design a range of jeans. This is a live project in collaboration with the Hirdaramani Group, with the students receiving feedback from the Hirdaramani Group on their design work and support with the fabrication and finishing aspects of the student's’ jeans.
AOD 2nd Year Swim / Sportswear Project (Emerging Talent)
Olivia/Christina, Kajlani, Tharshana, Spindonna, Thamali, Sneha and Shehara
This project is a collaborative project with MAS Active Nirmaana, MAS Linea Aqua & Screenline Holdings. Students research & develop a diffusion range of swimwear and/or sportswear to match a brand of their choosing. Selected students’ work was then chosen for showcasing at SLDF and manufactured with the support of MAS Active Nirmaana, MAS Linea Aqua and Screenline Holdings.
AOD 2nd Year Advanced Concept Project
Oshini, Umanga, Spindonna, Thamali, Tharshana, Sandani, Rebecca, Sneha, Umanga, Hashini, Kajlani, Thamali and Tharshana
This 2nd year project encourages student designers to respond to influences from the world around them and translate them into garments that reflect their own design identity. Students develop a personal concept to inspire the design and development of a fashion collection which they will then pursue in their final year. It an opportunity for student designers to explore their own signature style and how they see themselves as designers.
Sustainable Fashion Design Award Contestants
Prabath Samarasooriya
The collection is based on a nomadic free spirit where Boho meets a dystopian touch. The look is dark yet sharp and is layered with a variety of clothing. Itfollows a big sustainable impact through local crafts such as locally made batik and hand woven textiles by local craft communities. The brand also uses industrial waste materials as a value addition also making it a social responsibility. The collection follows a timeless and a trending story inspired by artistic, free and spiritual-minded people from around the world. The SLDF and Mercedes Benzis a great combination that can offer trending fashion to the world and this is the main reason why I took part in this event.
Nilakshi Gamage
The concept of my Dezba collection was derived from inspiration that I gained from the story of Native Americans and the conflict between US Calvary and workers. Natives got very primitive and crafty clothes and accessories. The key details were the usage of animal hides, two-piece clothing, Navajo weaving, blankets and rugs, headgears and the glass bead quillwork and necklaces. In contrast the US Calvary details were used to develop embroidery. On the other hand, work wear clothing is based on denims. All the pockets and details are used only for their functionalities. The garment silhouettes and details are extracted and developed to reflect the fusion of the contemporary trend for both men’s and women’s wear.
Silhouettes are more developed in to oversized and draped figures with the use of innovative patterns and cutting techniques. For the surface decoration my concern was mainly on combining embroidery together with handloom techniques which has added more value through prominent colors. It is a great opportunity for me to take part in SLDF because it helped me to gain many valuable experiences to my life as a designer. Also it opened many doors to my carrier through vast variety of job opportunities. Also I am glad that I got selected to the final three in the Mercedes Benz fashion apparel awards under sustainable category.
Kanchana Fernando
I am participating under the sustainable category. I have centered my theme on recycling old denims and redesigning them using batik designs. Through this what I want to show is that we have got many inspirations from the West and through this redesign we are trying to give something back to the West. For tops I am taking saree jackets and I have termed them hybrid saree pants according to my storyline. I am really excited about being a finalist and I am looking forward to the big day.
By Rihaab Mowlana and Kamanthi Wickramasinghe
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