CFW returns with expanded global reach for Summer 25

From left: Vision Care General Manager Harsha Maduranga, Juniper Group Executive Chairman Yatila Wijemanne, Ninewells Healthcare Cluster Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Vibash Wijeratne, Unilever Sri Lanka Personal Care Beauty and Wellbeing Marketing and Media Director Shamara Silva, NDB Wealth Management CEO Ruwan Perera, Cinnamon Colombo Hotels Area Vice President and Cinnamon Grand Colombo General Manager Kamal Munasinghe, Colombo Fashion Week Founder Ajai Vir Singh, Mastercard Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Sandun Hapugoda, Taj Maldives and Sri Lanka Area Director, Taj Samudra Colombo General Manager Samrat Datta, Nestle Lanka Managing Director Bernhard Stefan, Ramani Fernando Salons Founder Ramani Fernando, and Cargills Food and Beverage Managing Director Arjuna Kumarasinghe at the Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) Summer 2025 press briefing in Colombo

• Introduced the Craft Fashion Fund to encourage designers to utilise traditional crafts in their work
• Two winners will be selected; one for batik and one for other local crafts

By Divya Thotawatte 

Marking its 22nd year shaping the design ecosystem in Sri Lanka, Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) has returned for Summer 2025 with a strengthened international footprint since recently joining as a founding member of the newly created BRICS International Fashion Federation. 

CFW Summer 2025, presented by MasterCard, is scheduled to be held from 19 to 22 February. The shows will feature an impressive roster of international and local talent, including designers from India, Italy and Russia. With Shangri-la, Taj Samudra and Cinnamon Grand Colombo as key destination partners, the fashion week is poised to transform Colombo into an immersive fashion destination by showcasing designers across three of the city’s most prestigious locations. 

Speaking on the journey to CFW’s impact on the couture landscape of Sri Lanka, CFW Founder Ajai Vir Singh said, “22 years ago when we started, there was one designer, Yolanda Aluwihare. For five years, I thought this thing was not working. Today when we look back, 85% of designers we see around are the product of this platform. This has created a fashion ecosystem, and we keep our content very pure, in the sense that all the designers get exposed in the best possible way.”

In bringing local designers and talent into the spotlight, CFW’s participation as a founding member of BRICS International Fashion Federation last year will also give access to 56 countries, expanding CFW’s international footprint, Singh explained. With this milestone, there will be a designer exchange initiative where designers from the BRICS fashion program will get the opportunity to showcase in Sri Lanka while Sri Lankan designers will be able to showcase in the BRICS countries. 

Further broadening its scope this year, CFW also announced the Craft Fashion Fund, a new initiative introduced with the objective of elevating the Sri Lankan design identity. It has been created to encourage young designers to engage with and incorporate Sri Lankan crafts, including batik, into their collections. 

“There is a richness of craft and culture available in Sri Lanka, and we realised that for the Sri Lankan design identity to be built up, the use of traditional craft is very important. The changes the fashion industry has gone through in the last five years is also due to the fact that the use of traditional craft has dipped lately. There’s a synergy in relation between the two. India and Pakistan, for example, have a very strong design entity because they use their crafts a lot in their fashion. Sri Lankan designers use it, but not enough,” Singh said, noting that younger designers tended to veer in alternate, easier routes. To promote the use of different traditional crafts in the Sri Lankan high-fashion space, the Craft Fashion Fund will select two winners; one who incorporates batik and another who utilises crafts other than batik. This initiative will support two exceptional designers, ensuring the preservation and evolution of Sri Lanka’s rich artistic heritage. The focus of these initiatives is on creating a defined Sri Lankan design identity in the international couture space, Singh added. 

In supporting young designers, CFW Summer 25 will also feature 15 emerging designers, with renowned Sri Lankan designer and Meraki Founder Sharmila Ruberu mentoring them on collection planning.  The shows will feature celebrated designers from India, Italy and Russia such as Rimzim Dadu, Cettina Bucca, Suneet Varma and JJ Valaya who will present alongside respected Sri Lankan designers including Fouzul Hameed, Sonali Dharmawardena, Asanka De Mel, Kamil Hewawitharana, Dimuthu Sahabandu, Indi Yapa Abeywardena, and Charini Suriyage. 

MasterCard Country Manager to Sri Lanka and Maldives Sandun Hapugoda said, “We support Colombo Fashion Week not only because of its focus on innovative fashion and sustainability, but also because it supports tourism itself. To add to that we’ve taken a decision and started destination marketing from this year onwards. As an initial program, MasterCard is glad to announce that we have started marketing the Colombo Fashion Week in South Asian markets. We also conducted ‘spend and win’ campaigns in Bangladesh and Maldives. We have also curated certain packages around Colombo Fashion Week for the Indian market. We have been reaching out to our consumers through the broader MasterCard network. The idea to expand it to the globe is in the subsequent years.”

CFW 2025 is supported by MasterCard as the presenting partner, along with Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Taj Samudra, NDB Wealth, Yatra, Ninewells Aesthetic Centre, Tresemme, Vaseline, Juniper, Chupa Chups, Nestle–Nestcafe, Vision Care, Knuckles, Hameedia, Romania Fernando, Wijeya Newspapers, Hard Talk, Acorn, and Emerging Media. 

Over the years, CFW has proven to be the backbone of Sri Lanka’s fashion design industry while creating a fashion ecosystem that provides support to new emerging designers entering the industry. Informally known as the South Asian Fashion Week, it also serves as a regional hub due to its geopolitical advantage. It is also one of the most significant fashion weeks in South Asia having played a crucial role in revitalising the country’s fashion design industry. 

-Pix by Ruwan Walpola