Written by AMILANI PERERA Founder of AMILANI PERERA
I have been a fashion nerd since I was 14 years of age and have eagerly looked forward for fashion week and trend reports every season. Thus building my very own fashion brand was all I ever dreamt of.
As naive as all this may sound, I have always believed that my fashion platform can be used as the voice of the unheard! It is amazing how we can give a voice, shed a ray of light and hope on someone else’s life merely through a garment. My ongoing projects with the United Nations Population Fund of Sri Lanka, creating collections against gender biased violence, can be cited as an of this example.
Nonetheless the limelight commanded by the fashion industry has not been making headlines lately. It’s not easy to see the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the entire world and the fashion industry is barely breathing among all of this. However thanks to the digital era that we live in we have managed to make this the ray of life at the end of the tunnel transferring the brand from an in-store collection to one that is available online.
The unique selling point of the brand AMILANI PERERA is that all the pieces that we design and create are one off pieces. Whether it’s a light weight denim jacket for a summer day or a red carpet gala, we believe each and everyone of us is unique in our own special way and that there is always a perfect piece for each woman for every occasion; and keeping that in mind, every piece is carefully hand crafted with that exclusive and unique touch. To bring out these pieces on to a digital platform, where our clients can’t experience the same luxury as on the conventional platform was extremely challenging.
How to balance the two concepts of inclusiveness and exclusivity was a cause of concern in my mind. AMILANI PERERA is all about living that luxury and being exclusive- hence how could I bring the same experience to our clients on a digital platform? How will they be able to drape and feel the textures and softness of our saris and see the intricate beadwork hand embellished on our gowns? Those were pertinent questions, which caught us completely off guard, as this was a completely unforeseen situation.
However, it was fascinating to see how the world around fashion was dramatically changing and AMILANI PERERA adapted along with it! We have incorporated new philosophies- the core of the future of luxury is at the balance between inclusiveness and exclusivity. In order to provide that exclusive conventional client service while selling online at The Design Collective Store website, we offer a video chat with the client after each purchase, in the event they require our support for the purpose of styling and if amendments are required to the product. Further more we offer our clients to have the option of collecting the garment at The Design Collective Store, whilst meeting all the safety standards, where they have the option of trying on the designer pieces. These investments have made the label to be better positioned to develop together with digital integrations.
We do sincerely believe that we all are in this situation together and we will get through these challenging times. Let us remind ourselves that even though World War 2 was one of the most horrific chapters in world history, it resulted in the societal acceptance of women in trousers! What an amazing fashion revolution it was!
In a world there is enough love and compassion to go around, we can certainly make COVID-19 bring out the best in us. Further let’s make “staying home” a chic memorable experience!
Stay safe!
Love as always,
Amilani Perera.