Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts hosted the internationally reputed photographer Nigel Barker in Sri Lanka from July 15-23. During his tour, the celebrity photographer, reality TV host, author and model conducted a workshop for Sri Lanka’s fashion industry on fashion, photography and inspiration.

The workshop covered topics such as : The Business of Fashion, How Nigel Barker made it to the top and beyond; Model of Influence – what it takes to be a true supermodel from Nigel Barker’s New York Times Best-selling book and the use of photography and film to make a difference in the world at large.  Nigel also spoke about his career and engaged the participants in Q & A session after each topic was covered. The house was filled with established fashion designers in Sri Lanka, fashion photographers, design students, models and those interested in Nigel Barker’s inspirational story.

The workshop was followed by a special Q & A session for the media where Nigel expressed his views about the tour in Sri Lanka.
In his comments Nigel said that the entire tour was quite exciting and that he has plans to visit Sri Lanka again. “I went to Yala, Sigiriya, Kandy and many other destinations and had a great time. I saw Kandyan dancing, went on elephant rides and even crocodiles got involved in our journey around the island at one point. I also got involved in a project to donate cattle pens for the farmers living along the border of the Yala National Park. This was an initiative taken by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts in response to the hardships faced by the farmers due to leopards preying on their cattle.”

In addition to the workshop, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts along with Hameedias jointly hosted a book signing event at the Envoy Mansion in Colombo for selected VIPs. ‘Models of Influence’ is a New York Times best seller where Nigel Barker portrays 50 influential women who have reset the course of fashion.

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe
Photographs by Kushan Pathiraja