WTF - CFW Spring and Summer Collection 2017 

What - CFW
Where - Hilton Colombo 
When - February 22-26 

Today on WTF, I speak about three elements of CFW this year. 

1. 23rd February 2016 - Day 1 featured the Emerging Designer Showcase at Park Street Mews, where Colombo Fashion Week cultivates young designer talent. A handful of exceptional, aspiring fashion designers, selected by an expert panel of judges were given the coveted opportunity to be guided through their creative process by the CFW team, who provides them with valuable training and mentoring to conceptualize and produce a runway-ready collection. This is a great strength for the industry and what will be the future of CFW. 

2. The Agency : CFW brought down a number of international models who modelled alongside our Sri Lankan models who are trained and kept fit with model bootcamps and catwalk workshops. This is a new eventure, to let new faces be seen on the runway. With a long road ahead, I sure did see some promising models take the runway this year. 

3. 25th February 2016 - Day 3 was the Menswear Segment. Although this did not have a great turnover, in terms of Invites, and as I had to chose 10 best dressed personalities, I actually died of starvation, but it was a promising night, and Gihan Ediriweera showed excellent talent that night with his “CROW” collection. Menswear is becoming important globally and this trend is being witnessed in Sri Lanka as well. In line with that, CFW urged more menswear designers to come forth and encourage existing designers to expand their scope to include menswear. Speaking to Ajai he says “We are focused on creating more retail and commercial opportunities for Sri Lankan designers, hence we keep innovating and experimenting,” 

On to the show nights now. It was a diffident runway and it gave more space for people to see the collection on the models. On Day 2, I loved Bibi opening the night, and as always she had a warm start for the nights ahead at the Hilton. Jai by Jaishree the cover girl of HI!! had a promising presence on the runway whilst the weakest for that night were the two that followed soon after the break. I was more surprised with Charini Suriyage's final outfit on stage which was worn by Marianne Page, and I felt that it lacked a fine finish. Amanda Weerasinghe was the BEST for me on Day 2, and I loved every bit of her work. And my next least favourite was the TITANIC COLLECTION. The music and the outfits did not add up to CFW, which was done by Gihan Ediriweera. 

On Day 3 Gihan Ediriweera's second collection for the same year was SUPER, and excellent work. It had some drama and he made crows sexy. Mevan Kaluarachchi was another strong member on the runway. 

Day 4 was a powerhouse! Full of excellent work, and my personal favourite for that night was Ramona Oshini. She had some fine workmanship that was shown on the runway that night, while everyone's favourite Rizwan Beyg did have some strong pieces, where I would pick a few and match them well. 

In conclusion, another CFW WELL DONE! I was happy to sit next to the ever so relaxed Dirk Flamer-Caldera, who is the Director of CFW. He said “I bought my shoes down Havelock Place, and I'm seated to watch the show for the first time in may years,”. I was also so proud to see my two teammates from WTF, Jonathan and Ryan Wijayaratne who are now the official backstage photographers for CFW, which brings us to the video today, which will give you a rundown off all that went down, on the nights of CFW. 

Hope you enjoy our WTF today! 

For more photographs, click here. 

Watch the video below: 

Today on WTF 

Outfit by – Jump 
Hair and makeup – Capello Salon 
Video and Pics by – You're My Favorite 
Transport Partner – PickMe