Spectrum

In today's world of complex thinking with bizarre fashions from Lady Gaga and Madonna any wonder then that certain

reputed international fashion designers have expressed the thought that “one thing excit-ing about fashion is the surprise element. People don't know what they want. They just know when they see it”.

But to young Hiruni Perera the thought may not be applicable. She is committed to fashion designing and knows where she is going. At her home her mother was success-ful in sorting out the problems that troubled Hiruni and encouraged her to follow a course in BSc Fashion and Apparel Design at the University of Bangalore. 'I must thank my parents for all the support they've given me'. She followed a three year course from the fibre to the dress (the final product).

“What that means is that studying to be a fashion designer meant that you have to learn to be skilled at designing, pattern mak-ing, cutting, garment production, merchan-dising and marketing.

“At the outset it may look overwhelming but as you pass the initial stages the intrica-cies of the subjects fall into place and once you come to the end of the course you won-der why you worried at all” said Hiruni when we met her to find out how fashion design-ing started with her.

As it always happens with young design-ers, doodling of designs had its beginnings at school. A past student of Holy Cross College, Gampaha, she said that her childhood dream was to become a fashion designer. 'In school it used to be my job to design dresses for functions, concerts and dances.

'In fact, I designed the T-shirts for the members of the Science Club in school. After I returned from Bangalore, at the recent Ms Lanka 2013 organised by Gwen-doline Kuhatheva, Director Technique International (Pvt) Ltd, she gave me the opportunity to launch my label Hiraana which was reflected in the casual wear for the contestants.

The dresses were made of Italian silk and lace and it was a successful launch for me. Now that I have launched my label, I intend producing more garments and canvassing for outlets to display them. I hope to open a boutique towards the end of the year. Most of my creations are for teenagers – funky,

casual wear and beach party wear in batik which have become popular.

Q: Did your studies in Bangalore involve batik printing?

A: I learnt silk batik printing in Banga-lore but for the practicals I was helped by Eric Suriyasena of Marawila. I must thank him for all the guid-ance and assistance he gave me. I did a special case study on batik in Bangalore. Indian batik is quite different from Sri Lankan batik, in print, colours and colour com-bination. The print is not traditional. I used abstract designs with flowers and it turned out to be good. In fact I did a market survey which showed batik to be popular but I didn't want to sell.

Q: How do you draw your inspiration to create your designs?

A: From nature. From surroundings, even people, from the shape of buildings I have learnt to recognise the features I should use.

For instance, I was inspired by the butterfly and I used the theme for a dress which was displayed at the Ms Lanka 2013 finale pageant. The feature, the colours gave me the inspiration to cre-ate the dress. Fashion show production was also a subject that was dealt with at the Uni-versity in Bangalore.

Q: What will your future plans be?A: At the moment I'm developing a cur-

riculum of lessons for fashion show pro-ductions at the Open University, Nawala and I intend increasing the output of the garments I wish to sell under my label Hiraana.

I'm concentrating on youth fashions – abstract and with clashing colours. Youth are revolutionary and this market is wide, so I need to cater to their needs.” Undoubt-edly a fresh thinking on fashion designing in Sri Lanka.

A fresh thinking oncasual wear and beach party wear in batik which have become popular.

Q: Did your studies in Bangalore involve batik printing?

I learnt silk batik printing in Banga-lore but for the practicals I was helped by Eric Suriyasena of Marawila. I must thank him for all the guid-ance and assistance he gave me. I did a special case study on batik in Bangalore. Indian batik is quite different from Sri Lankan batik, in print, colours and colour com-bination. The print is not traditional. I used abstract designs with flowers and it turned out to be good. In fact I did a market survey which showed batik to be popular but I didn't want

Q: How do you draw your inspiration to create your designs?

From nature. From surroundings, even people, from the shape of buildings I have learnt to recognise the features I should use.

For instance, I was inspired by the butterfly and I used the theme for a dress which was displayed at the Ms Lanka 2013 finale pageant. The feature, the colours gave me the inspiration to cre-ate the dress. Fashion show production was also a subject that was dealt with at the Uni-versity in Bangalore.

Q: What will your future plans be? At the moment I'm developing a cur-

riculum of lessons for fashion show pro-ductions at the Open University, Nawala and I intend increasing the output of

HiraanaCreationsHiruni Perera

fashion

Moods of Hiruni...

Pix: Chinthaka Kumarasinghe