Jul 15 2013.
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Amidst a busy schedule even on a Sunday, we managed to arrange a brief conversation with an upcoming designer, Indeevari Yapa Abeywardena regarding her label ‘Indi’ and her recent runway show which was concluded at L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week.
Indeevari or Indi as she is usually called, explains that it was by coincidence that she got into designing, since soon as she left school she was not sure of which path to take when it came to her higher studies and even though she was passionate about traditional dancing she knew it was not something she would want to pursue as a career.
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But in 2004 whilst on a traditional dance tour she happened to come across a picture of Marilyn Monroe in a magazine and Indi says that the picture moved her in a manner which made her fascinated by the garment the late actress was wearing and she wanted to be able to design something similar and she says that such inspiration brought back memories of her late mother and how Indi remembers watching her mother sew when Indi was little.
After setting her mind to pursue a career in design, Indi joined the Academy of Design and at the same time Mr. Ranjan Wijeweera, the owner of MONDY gave her the opportunity to visit his factory and familiarize herself with the industry and during that time Indi started compiling her portfolio which was presented to some of the directors of certain universities of England who were visiting at the British Council and subsequently she was given the opportunity to pursue her design studies at the Middlesex University and later on at Hertfordshire University.
Whilst studying in England in 2009 Indi was selected to showcase her designs at the London Graduate Fashion Week which was her first runway show and afterwards started working at Henry Bertrand which is a renowned fabric supplying company in London and Indi was able to be present at Première Vision, which is a world renowned fabric show held annually in Paris.
In 2010 after completing her stint in London Indi returned to her homeland to be with her family and in 2011 started work at Linea Aqua as a senior swimwear designer and during the same year she was able to show case her own line ‘INDI’ at the Colombo Fashion Week with a black and white theme which was inspired by the concept of multiple personalities. She says her first runway show in Sri Lanka was an amazing experience which opened her to a lot of opportunities and taught her a lot about the local fashion industry.
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Indi says her career, post Colombo Fashion Week was starting to build up but she regrets not having much exposure as a designer prior to showcasing her work at CFW, since she was not able to take complete advantage of what CFW had to offer especially in the context of promoting her line. However, in February 2012 she joined with Melaché, and like few other local designers she was able to promote her line at the designer boutique and says that Melaché has been able to provide a platform for her to promote her label INDI and is very appreciative of it.
When discussing her experience at L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week 2013, Indi says Asiri Wanigaratne, who is a photographer established in Australia contacted her through the INDI facebook page and introduced her to Albert Lim who was the organizer of the Asia Pacific Runway category at the Melbourne Fashion Week and was invited to participate in the Asia Pacific Runway category, and she says that the opportunity in itself was amazing even with the tight deadline of having to create eighteen designs with less than twenty eight days and she says she was very proud of what she was able to come up with as her collection consisted of Mexican embroidery and geometric designs.
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Subsequent to showcasing her collection, Indi says that she was given offers by departmental stores in Australia, which however she says is something she did not want to take up at the moment and might pursue later on in her career.
While going through her collections over the few years it was quite evident that Indi’s designs were for the young at heart but with a sense of seriousness, and who are ambitious and very confident in what they wear. However her actual “ideology of a woman” was brought out in her collection called ‘Woman in White’ which brought out the purity of a woman who is sensual yet graceful.
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We also asked Indi about her views on the fashion industry in Sri Lanka, and she says that the industry is not well connected with the international standards, mainly due to the lack of communication, and when it comes to the concept of borrowing ideas Indi says that the Sri Lankan designers need to be more selective and the experienced designers need to know the proper way of sharing their knowledge regarding the industry to the new comers.
With the new experience in hand after showcasing her work at the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week, Indi says she is currently committed to lecturing at the University of Moratuwa at the Department of Textile and Clothing and also designing dresses for some of the contestants of Derana Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World and apart from all the commitments she is also busy moving her design studio to a new place in Mount Lavinia.
With such a hectic schedule at hand it was indeed a pleasure to have met this promising designer to speak about her experiences and the future of her career. Life Online wishes to thank Indi for sparing some time for the interview and wish her great success in all her future endeavors.
Interivew by Radhi de Silva
0 Comments
sledge hammer says:
Jul 15, 2013 at 12:00 amWhat an exotically beautiful girl :O
James says:
Jul 16, 2013 at 12:00 amWoooow... sooo beautiful
M?dü Räthñayäkä says:
Jul 16, 2013 at 12:00 amgood luck akki AROSHAN
Ranil says:
Jul 16, 2013 at 12:00 amProblem is, the face, skin color and features are not "international", if you know what I mean.
vérité says:
Jul 16, 2013 at 12:00 amRanil: Look up in a good dictionary the word 'international'. Then you will realize how stupid you comment is.?
vérité says:
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:00 amIndeevari seems like a very talented, attractive and charming lady. Good luck to her, in her endeavors.
ranil says:
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:00 amI mean she looks a bit "gode". Sorry, but that's my honest opinion.
vérité says:
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:00 am#ranil: What is the real meaning of 'gode' ? There is no such word in the English language. If you mean unsophisticated, you are dead wrong. This young lady has had most of her education in the UK and she is having her collection shown in Australia. To many of us she seems very sophisticated, very attractive , ambitious
Nilu says:
Jul 20, 2013 at 12:00 amFabulous! Keep up the good work IND!!