HSBC Colombo Fashion Week at the crossroads between stale and sensational

By Roshenka Jayamaha

For the 13th year in its history, HSBC Colombo Fashion Week brought glamour, style and a fusion of local and international designers to its hallowed runway. 

This year the Spring/Summer 2017 show stayed true to form by featuring a blend of established designers as well as a few fresh faces in the emerging young talent line-up. Day 2 of the HSBC CFW show took place at the Hilton Colombo’s grand ballroom, amidst a gathering of fashion enthusiasts, VIP guests, members of the media and sponsors.

Although its evolution and success have been phenomenal over the last decade, HSBC CFW is now at an all-important crossroads. Undoubtedly having uplifted Sri Lanka’s fashion design industry to new heights it remains to be seen whether the show will continue to maintain its upward momentum or slowly start to go stale. Day 2 of CFW was a strong reminder of the show’s power as a platform, its journey of growth and the challenges it may face in delivering sustainable excellence.

It’s all about Indigo

This year, CFW celebrated Indigo, a colour that has had a significant impact on local and traditional textiles as well as commercial garments. Throughout history, indigo has been used extensively by people of different cultures. This blend of blue and violet is featured on frescoes in South America as well as the clothing of ancient tribes from Africa and the kilims of Asia and the Middle East. 

Although CFW has paid tribute to the colour Indigo before in 2013, this year the colour was beautifully incorporated into the lighting, stage effects and designer showcases, highlighting the many ways that it can be used in different aspects of fashion and design. 

The start of the Day 2 show was particularly memorable. All of the models from Bangladeshi designer Bibi Russell’s showcase took to the runway covered in the glow of indigo lights before heading backstage and making way for Marianne Page – the first face of the night to start the show. 

New looks and fresh colours

Bibi Russell’s collection with its strong ethnic nuances was impeccably enhanced by detailed sandals and complementary accessories. Vibrant fuchsia, lime and midnight black were part of her colour palette along with hues such as baby blue and aqua. She seamlessly delivered a complete look that was distinct, rich in detail and beautifully tailored in its own right. 

The Jai by Jaishree collection boasted bold splashes of colour and a variety of prints whilst Amanda Weerasinghe’s label AMANDA had a youthful touch that was enriched by simple yet striking contrasts in colour such as hot pink and blue along with red and white. Indi Yapa Abeywardena’s white jumpsuit radiated elegance as did the bright red gown in her collection, which was adorned with ornate embellishments.

Catherine Rawson’s The Old Railway brand with simple sophistication blended shades of watered down blue with dull golds and decorative tassels. Amalani Perera’s carefree, ready-to-wear pieces and Charini Suriyage’s new collection followed along with G by Gihan Ediriweera’s eclectic mix of pieces which featured lightweight fabrics in shades of blue and white. Thereafter veterans Sonali Dharmawardena (whose work with the heritage art of batik has gained her significant recognition) and Delhi based designer Samant Chauhan (who is well-known for his clean cut silhouettes and use of hand woven Indian textiles) presented their collections and rounded up the showcase.

Blending the old with 

the new

Many of the local and international designers who are featured in the show, have showcased their collections several times at CFW and can be considered the show’s well-loved regulars. Whilst it’s gratifying to see their latest creative masterpieces and their growth, a greater infusion of new designers would also help to add variety, contrasts and an element of surprise into the show’s line-up.

HSBC CFW however has done an impeccable job of grooming young designers and providing them a dedicated platform at the start of the season. Hopefully next year’s line-up will feature a reinvigorated blend of old and new that includes CFW regulars as well as a fresh pool of new and dynamic design talent.

Picking up the pace

As the global world of fashion evolves, HSBC CFW will need to continuously evolve with it. With a strong focus on boosting retail opportunities and helping local designers to reach global markets, HSBC CFW is already well on track towards becoming an even greater force in the Sri Lankan, regional and international fashion arena. 

However the global fashion landscape is changing rapidly and traditional fashion show structures are being shaken up. More and more global brands are renewing their focus on consumers and e-commerce is enabling them to take runway collections straight to consumers’ wardrobes. The “see now, buy now” culture that is becoming prevalent at prominent shows such as New York Fashion Week has the potential to be immensely beneficial for designers.

Many brands are also trying new things and connecting with consumers in new ways. Leaving traditional and more exclusive formats behind, Givenchy in 2015 opened up its AW15 show in New York to 800 members of the general public, creating a massive buzz in the industry and generating a social media storm. These changes show a shift in how fashion weeks around the world are evolving with time, trends and technology and it will be truly exciting to see how HSBC CFW continues its own unique and extremely important journey of evolution.

The bottom-line

This year, the production of Day 2 of the HSBC CFW show, the runway music tracks and set-up, the models and their choreographed routines, as well as their hair and make-up were exceptional. The quality of designs showcased and the creative and holistic conceptualization of many of the different runway looks were also noteworthy. 

Whilst many aspects of the show were planned extremely well, other key areas such as ensuring more efficient and engaging media relations and interactions and generating more creative PR hype, could give the show a significant edge in the future. 

If HSBC CFW can find ways to stay fresh, relevant, bold and daring whilst continuing to deliver the highest levels of professionalism across all aspects of the show, then it certainly will forge ahead in truly sensational style and further its position as one of Asia’s hottest and most revered fashion weeks.

-Pix by Shehan Gunasekara