It’s been hot news in the fashion scene that Sri Lanka’s very own Kamil Hewavitharana, the designer behind the brand ‘LIMAK by Kamil’ becomes the first and only Sri Lankan to showcase his collection at the inaugural Dubai Fashion Week 2021 held on the 16-18th of December 2021.
Kamil states that he comes from a family full of girls where he had 5 sisters and a mom who stitched clothes for the girls. This caught Kamil attention and he started watching his mom work more closely and learned how to stitch simple clothes well into his teen years. But at no point did he think he would have turned into the fashion sensation that he is today.
He said that the one thing he does is dress well ad admires people who take their time to dress well and look good when the occasion arises. It was when he had trouble finding clothes that were tasteful and fashionable that he started creating his own clothes which started out as a hobby for himself and a close group of friends, which in turn then blossomed into LIMAK.
“I have always dressed well and admired people who did too. At times it was difficult finding something different and interesting in retail, so I started by creating clothes for myself and my friends and this hobby was the start of LIMAK by KAMIL. LIMAK is actually KAMIL spelt backwards! A close friend of mine helped me create the brand.”
When speaking to him and asking him what inspired him and pushed him to do an international fashion week the answer was simple. Kamil said that it was “My friend Kevin Oliver, a great choreographer in Dubai, always encouraged me to reach for my goals and when the Dubai Fashion Week came up, he invited me to showcase my collection at this fantastic stage. It was a great honour for me to be the only one representing Sri Lanka at this show alongside other amazing designers. I also had the opportunity to meet one of my favourite designers from the Philippines – Michael Cinco!”
Dubai wasn’t the only international show that Kamil showcased in as just a week prior to the Dubai show Kamil had also showcased in Rome! But one guessed correctly greatness did not stop there as just 3 days later Kamil showcased in the Dubai Expo.
Kamil continued to say that it was “A huge honour and a dream come true – this is any designer’s dream, really. They respected and treated all the designers alike and it was an awesome experience. I’m always inspired by architecture when I travel. This collection was an abstract design print in 4 different colours and fabric textures and the fabric was pleated in different styles. The collection consisted of jumpsuits, dresses, jackets and pants for both men and women in fabrics of satin and silk. My collections have been showcased internationally in New York, London and Spain and locally back in 2019 and 2020 at the Colombo Fashion Week. My collections were showcased in New York and at the Shades of Ceylon show, in London. Every collection was totally different to the one before in style, colour, material and inspiration.”
