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Founders of Colombo Fashion Council Prassanna Pathmanathan and Damith Cooray
Calling attention to all fashion designers and innovators, Colombo Fashion Council (CFC) is making way to turn heads as they catwalk into the Sri Lankan fashion industry.
Shifting the spotlight onto the nation’s fashion trade, CFC aims to develop a South Asian fashion hub and build a platform for emerging fashion talents to make their way into the limelight of the international fashion sphere.
An apex body of fashion and design in Sri Lanka, Colombo Fashion Council is a non-profit organisation that proudly represents the nation’s fashion industry in the intercontinental fashion showground, flaunting the best of Sri Lanka’s fashion design to an international audience.
Founded on the premise of promoting, inspiring and representing the best fashion and design talents, CFC has built in roads to uplift the fashion industry in Sri Lanka to reach greater heights and potentials.
The creative masterminds steering the wheel of CFC are ambitious, multi-talented and gifted stars – Prassanna Pathmanathan, a well-known marketer, trainer, strategist and Founding Director of Ultimma Consulting and Training, and Damith Cooray, a Sri Lankan entrepreneur and a fashion designer for well-recognized UK brands such as London Hilton, Nando’s Arriva, Thistle Hotels and owner of Kito Bespoke clothing label.
From working with one of the world’s most influential fashion gurus, Sir Paul Smith, to assisting the production of London Fashion Week and winning awards for Best Business Innovation, Young Entrepreneur Fashion and Designing, Vice Chancellors Merit Award by Metropolitan University and Sustainable Fashion with Craft at Sri Lanka Fashion and Apparel Awards (SLFAA), the striving and determined fashion duo envisions to support the fashion and design talents of Sri Lanka whilst strengthening the presence of local fashion designers in the global sphere.
Moving from an industry that was seen to be nearly non-existent a few years ago to being a prominently growing trade within the last five years has transformed the fashion industry into an evolution of Sri Lankan fashion retail stores earning around $ 10 million annually.
Versatile innovator and forerunner of the industry, Damith says: “Fashion has taken on a new element in the local market with a number of Sri Lankan designers aspiring to become big names in the business of fashion with potential turnovers topping $ 500 million while retailers of local fashion labels have the potential to touch $ 500 million in the next two years.”
With the industry now blooming in the stir of a number of students passing out as designers, a newer and innovative fashion industry has awoken with a fusion of traditional and modern creativity. With this in mind, CFC makes way to bring the Sri Lankan fashion industry to novel pinnacles by discovering and tapping into these many potential talents of Sri Lanka.
Building platforms to showcase talents through annual fashion weeks and contests on local and international grounds, rewarding the talented, offering sponsorships, job opportunities and publicity are some of the many stepping stones CFC has laid down to contribute and support the rapidly emerging fashion industry of Sri Lanka.
Adding to the support system for budding fashion designers in Sri Lanka, the founders of CFC aim to share their wisdom, knowledge and experience through innovative workshops and seminars. This would guide raw talents in to starting their own business and fashion label, organising and executing fashion shoots for local and international fashion magazines and many more thrilling learning experiences.
Speaking on the educational aspects of CFC, Prassanna says: “If one is passionate about fashion and desires to work in the fashion industry for the best fashion companies, they need to not only be creative and artistic, but also well educated. Therefore, CFC offers services such as knowledge acquisition and sharing, fashion incubation and promotion, as well as fashion training and consultancy as some of the many plans CFC has to bring to the Sri Lankan fashion designers the much needed development, recognition, preparation and opportunities to mark their footprints in the international arena.”
CFC is now geared up to embark on a journey with initiatives which include introducing international fashion shows and events, award ceremonies, as well as showcasing the Sri Lankan talent of prepped and groomed fashion designers with the potential to compete on international levels.
With a ground-breaking entrance to cultivate and enrich the fashion and design talents in Sri Lanka, the dynamic founding duo of Colombo Fashion Council backed by their vibrant teams are highly persistent in bringing a revolutionary experience to advance the wellbeing of the fashion industry in Sri Lanka and its designer businesses through state-of-the-art knowledge, wisdom and experience shared by local and international expertise to produce world class crafts and finely-moulded fashionistas in Sri Lanka.
