Sophisticated sustainable elegance from WRAITH

by Zanita Careem 

Dinesh Chandrasena draws from over 25 years of creative experience internationally in fashion design. At the recently concluded Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) Dinesh’s creative directing of the WRAITH label highlighted the importance of sustainable fashion, at a time when the emphasis is on responsible professionalism. I sat down with Dinesh to ask a few questions.

 Q. Dinesh tell me about the concept behind the latest WRAITH collection

A. In keeping with the responsible creativity theme set by the CFW team, Chethiya and I worked on maintaining sustainable creativity. Choosing the theme of ‘Kintsukuroi’, the Japanese concept that even something damaged and broken can be beautiful, we worked on fluid silhouettes using bamboo fabrics in natural and black, highlighted with artisanal hand craftsmanship. For us staying true to the brief is very important rather than simply using non-sustainable fabrics and trims just for runway effect. 

 Q. Tell Me about the hand craftsmanship

A. 

Since Kintsukuroi is exemplified by broken and repaired porcelain, we used porcelain discards, and shaped the pieces into shards that could accent the embroidery. Many places have packing string in jute which is discarded, and we wanted to use this to create the ‘fractured’ embroidery motifs. I worked with a very talented designer Panchali Liyanawaduge for the embellishments, and her impeccable skills reflected in the finished products. Within our theme and the areas of responsible design we wanted to stay away from the predictable embellishments of sequins, and beads etc. which are unfortunately over-done in collections. For accessories we had brushed gold jewellery in varying organic shapes provided by Gem Atelier perfectly complimenting the timeless aspect of the collection.  

 Q. What plans do you have for this collection

A. 

We are very proud of this capsule collection, and are looking forward to showcasing more. I think for us it was wonderful to show that design does not need to be over complicated to be beautiful. I believe in the timeless quality of fashion, and staying away from ‘fast fashion’. The silhouettes we created could be mixed and matched, and re-invented in many ways. This is something we want to highlight in our designs.

Q. You spoke about the sustainable fabrics and trims You used and sustainable fashion is making headlines all over the world, do You see necessary progress in Sri Lanka?

A.

It is actually a movement in sustainability that is a global movement where fashion is only a segment. Every aspect of human existence has been re-formulated and is being re-structured to make sure that the impact on the environment and negative impacts are minimized. In Sri Lanka also We see this movement building greater momentum and it is wonderful that CFW is adding focus to this as well. It is all progressive.

Q. You are also involved in design education, how important is education in a design career?

A.

Very important! However wonderfully instinctive and creative one might be, the formal education adds finesse that is invaluable. From the basics of sketching, understanding the history of design, learning how to creative a cohesive collection, through to understanding textile technology, education adds a level of professionalism that is value addition to anyone’s design career.

Pix – Courtesy– Fashion Week