ZUDHORA pushes high end fashion into retail

By Shehana Dain 

ZUDHORA, a one stop destination designer retail store opened its doors to the high end fashion forward clientele recently.

The store was a joint venture brought into life by the designers and proprietors Charini Suriyage and Ramona Oshini, another step towards taking Colombo to become the fashion capital in the region. It will house women’s ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear collections by Sri Lankan and international designers all under one roof.

The store and many more yet to come is a result of the Colombo Fashion Week’s intention to create retail initiatives for Sri Lankan designers.

Ramona Oshini has been a significant figure at Colombo Fashion Week for eight consecutive years and has showcased her Resort collection at Asian Fashion Week held in Indonesia. Moreover Charini Suriyage has made a mark in the international fashion arena by being a part of the London Fashion Week since 2010 and she’s also Head of Design for MAS intimates.

Speaking at the launch of the store Ramona said, “We wanted to create a space that will add to the retail industry. Thus, our store is tailored to create spaces that offer a variety of designer clothing. Both the smart casual section and evening wear section offer limited edition designer wear. The evening wear section also offers exclusive one off pieces for the first time in Sri Lanka.” She further stated that the smart casual collection will only have five of each design and the collection will rotate every three months.

“We are special because we are the only ones who are planning to curate and make sure that it’s top notch. We handpick our collections, everywhere else the designers can showcase whatever they like. What we concentrate more on is what our clients like, what will sell and what’s fashion forward,” Ramona added.

Highlighting the designers that will retail at ZUDHORA Suriyage noted, “We have a roster of upcoming and established local and international designers that will retail in the store. Each designer has a unique vision and a majority of them have also showcased at Colombo Fashion Week and other Fashion Week’s around the world.”

The luxurious line of designer collections to grace the racks for this season at ZUDHORA includes collections from KOCA by RN, Ramona Oshini, Exalt by Ramona Pulle, Charini, Ohe Island by Nelum Harasagama, Svelt by Monika Rau and Indrajith Indar. The collections which will be available from the launch include classics and one off pieces in luxurious fabrics.

     – Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe