8 Things You Should Know About Contemporary Fashion In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is known for its handmade woven looms and batik designs. The usual garment of sarees for women and sarongs for men are a great example of fine artistic manufacturing. Contemporary fashion designers use these classic techniques and create their own visions. With some Western influences mixed in, Sri Lanka’s contemporary fashion is reaching new heights. Here are eight things you should know about contemporary fashion in Sri Lanka.

Colour

Colour has never been absent from Sri Lankan fashion or textile design. Colour is certainly a common denominator when it comes to Sri Lankans, in clothing and in attitude. In all the aspects of Sri Lankan design that we will mention in this article, colour has something to do with it. From all the contemporary designers and collections, with whom we find the most colour and the most playful use of it, the M FACT collection at Barefoot Ceylon uses it best.
Cheers to Blue skies & Sunny days………______________________ #mfacthq #handcrafted #slowfashion #barefootceylon #colour #cotton #designer #detail #mensfashion
A post shared by M FACT (@mfact.design) on Apr 17, 2017 at 9:40pm PDT
Quiet Saturday mornings #barefootceylon #srilanka #handwoven #loom #barefootgalle
A post shared by BAREFOOT (@barefootceylon) on Feb 17, 2017 at 8:51pm PST

Sarees

Sarees are the usual attire for women in Sri Lanka. Some wear a saree on a daily basis, out of choice, or because their work uniform calls for a saree. School teachers and office women wear sarees, as well as tea pluckers when it is their custom. Contemporary designers have taken the saree and redesigned it using new kinds of fabrics, like tie-dye or modern linen.

Sarongs

Sarongs are the basic garment for men in Sri Lanka and in most of Southeast Asia. The original sarong is a tube of fabric folded and knotted at the waist at different lengths, depending on what the wearer is doing. In Sri Lanka, you will see men of all cultures wearing sarongs, such as tuk tuk drivers, fishermen, cooks and more recently, businessmen, who wear the modern sarong with pockets or even the tuxedo sarong by Lovi Sarongs.

Local contemporary designers in Sri Lanka have redesigned the original tube sarong in different ways. Barefoot Ceylon creates gorgeous classic sarongs with bright colours, all handcrafted in a handloom. Lovi Sarongs went a step further and added an easy-wear style with elegant designs and a tie-up string with pockets. Their newest designs are done in denim with an astronaut print.
It’s that sarong time of the year. A big ‘thank you’ from Barefoot to all our loyal customers and fans who rely on us for a pure cotton hand woven sarong. We will be weaving right up to the last minute to make sure we have stock at our three stores. #sarong #handloom #design #purecotton #cotton #srilankadesign #barefootceylon #barefootgalle #barefoot #srilanka #gallefort
A post shared by BAREFOOT (@barefootceylon) on Apr 6, 2017 at 10:44pm PDT
SUNDAY MOOD #Repost @mumblingfashion.lk ・・・ Summer nights and city lights, fulfill your wanderlust while trekking about the city dust, embrace the bright lights and the beach vibes with @lovisarongs . . #lovisarongs #lovedinlovi
A post shared by LOVI CEYLON (@lovisarongs) on Nov 12, 2017 at 1:27am PST

Batik

Batik is the art of creating designs on fabric using wax and colour dyes. Batik was introduced to Sri Lanka a little more than a hundred years ago and was brought from Indonesia. Since then, Sri Lankan batik has taken on a style of its own and contemporary designers are using the technique in their own designs. From sarees to dresses and men’s shirts, batik designs appear everywhere these days and some are quite spectacular.

Nythia, who was mentioned earlier, works with batik with great results, using designs that are not of Sri Lankan origin, but rather, have more of a western feel. There is plenty of batik in Sri Lanka but not all is as unique as the batik created by contemporary designers.
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A post shared by Fashion Market (@fashionmarketlk) on Jan 31, 2017 at 1:20am PST
Indi & Co. Contemporary and Independent Designers. Designer Indi Yapa Abeywardena. #fashion #fashionweek #summer #beauty #style #dress #women #voguemagazine #love #fashionweek #couture #designer #srilankashopping #shoppingsrilanka #fashionweeknews ##fashionphotography #srilanka #colombo #lk #lka #shopsrilanka
A post shared by INDI & Co. (@ico_srilanka) on Sep 8, 2017 at 9:37pm PDT

Linen

Being an island, Sri Lanka is a hot country. And there is no better fabric for hot countries than linen. Linen clothing is usually simple and clean cut, letting the fabric speak for itself. The new line, April Spence, by renowned contemporary Sri Lankan designer, Shaakya, is a light and feminine collection made up of sea- and sand-inspired pieces decorated with embroidery and beeralu lace. Tropic of Linen, an established linen house, always has new designs out, including sarongs, shirts and dresses.
Shop our selected items EXCLUSIVELY at INDI &I CO @ico_srilanka APRIL Spencer ICOsrilanka Address: No 15, Havelock Place, Colombo-5. Opening hours: 10am to 7pm ( Closed on Sundays ) @ico_srilanka @april_spencer_luxury_clothing @houseofshaakya @indi_yapa #icosrilanka #indibyindi
A post shared by House of Shaakya (@houseofshaakya) on Nov 16, 2017 at 12:27am PST
#strolling a #lazysunday in this #sunshine #saffron #linenshirt Only a few left in this colour! #mandarincollar #shortsleeve #linenaholic #Linen #linenshorts #shorts #TropicOfLinen #shopping #colombo #SriLankan #lka #fashion #sunday #summer #tropics
A post shared by TropicOfLinen (@tropicoflinen) on Jan 28, 2017 at 7:57pm PST

Sustainable fashion

Contemporary sustainable fashion in Sri Lanka uses materials sourced from the leftover fabric and trims that big factories usually burn or send to landfills. The new garments are sown by women around the country who work to sustain their families. The first ethical fashion designer in Sri Lanka was Red Cocoon, created by Mihiri de Silva in 2010. Nowadays, the most popular sustainable fashion designer is House of Lonali. Lonali sources scraps from factories all around Sri Lanka and employs craft artisans to make high fashion clothing and accessories.
‘Back of your mind’ collection by Lonali now available at @thedesigncollectivestore. Dress responsibly 💚. #houseoflonali #staple #dress #upcycled #sustainable #sustainablefashion #ethical #ethicalfashion #style #streetstyle #colomboboutique #colomboshopping #srilanka #lk #colombostreetstyle #casual #fun #comfort #easy #fashion #day #night #girl #women #unique #green
A post shared by Lonali ~ recycle reuse reduce (@houseoflonali) on Sep 13, 2017 at 7:31am PDT
Time to #getupcycled….. Check out our latest collection at @thedesigncollectivestore #lonali #upcycled #laceup #shoes #shoelover #shoeadict #walk #explore #travelcompanion #travel #style #streetstyle #colomboboutique #colomboshopping #designandmadeinsrilanka #handmade #love #fun
A post shared by Lonali ~ recycle reuse reduce (@houseoflonali) on Aug 22, 2017 at 8:10am PDT

Handwoven textiles

The handloom is a century-old technique used in Sri Lanka for making sarees and sarongs. Companies like Barefoot Ceylon and Seylan Fair Trade have brought the handloom into a new light by creating not only beautiful clothing but also home products like napkins, placemats, table covers and duvets.

Barefoot Ceylon calls on designers to create new collections every year and celebrates it with a fashion show in the courtyard of their Garden Cafe in Colombo. The garments from these collections are only available in the Colombo flagship store.
Weaving a sarong – and a shuttle in slow motion. #weaving #loom #handloom #barefootceylon #srilanka #handwoven #slowmotion
A post shared by BAREFOOT (@barefootceylon) on Mar 17, 2017 at 10:49pm PDT
Red shirts in the sunset. #handwoven #barefootceylon #red #shirt #style
A post shared by BAREFOOT (@barefootceylon) on Feb 20, 2017 at 4:01am PST
You don’t need to compromise on style to be sustainable! 💛🌺💛🌺💛 #selyn #srilanka #localcrafts #handwoven #handlooms #fairtrade #ethical #sustainablefashion #purchasewithpurpose #empoweredfashion #STHRIbyselyn
A post shared by Selyn (@selynfairtrade) on Nov 21, 2017 at 9:54pm PST

Denim

Denim is one of the newest introductions to the Sri Lankan contemporary fashion scene. Designers like Nythia use denim for her modern sarees and other designers use it to make easy dresses or shirts. But there is no other Sri Lankan designer that uses denim like H-D by Hafsa. Every design in the H-D line is created with denim and they are all unique.
Travel into the Blues! #denim #clothing #fashion #lifestyle #travel
A post shared by HD by Hafsa (@hdbyhafsa) on Jun 7, 2017 at 5:11am PDT
#throwback #Denimhandloom #Jeansaree #handloom #Saree #contemporarycraft #fashiondiaries #sareetrends #fashionstyle #denim #denimfashion #nithya
A post shared by Nithya Yamini Lamahewa (@nithyarn) on Jun 5, 2017 at 9:46pm PDT
Every woman of every shade, every Look and every place – this is for you! #denim #denimcollection #modernchic #anewsrilankanstyle #streetfashion #designedandmadeinsrilanka
A post shared by Fashion Market (@fashionmarketlk) on Sep 27, 2016 at 4:41am PDT

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