Empowering Women Through Designer Wear with Amilani Perera

‘Amilani Perera’ is a ready-to-wear brand by its namesake, Amilani Perera. The brand is driven by a two-pronged motive; giving the person who is wearing the garment something truly unique and special, and giving back to society.

Amilani graduated from the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore - she received a scholarship for a four-year course which she finished in three! Upon returning to Sri Lanka, she immediately wanted to start her brand but opted to gain some exposure in the industry as per the advice of her parents.

She then went on to work at MAS, an apparel company in Colombo. Through her work with the company, she gained the experience and confidence to start her label which launched at Colombo Fashion Week in 2013.

The luxury fashion brand is well-known for the unique touch it has on designer wear. Since her showcase in 2013, Amilani Perera has gone on to present her brand consecutively at Colombo Fashion Week. Aside from that, she has also showcased her Spring Summer 17’ Collecting at the USA-SRI LANKA Fashion Week in New York. This was also the first Sri Lankan brand featured at the Asian Designer Week (2016).

‘Amilani Perera’ has become a voice for women suffering in silence from violence. Amilani works in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund in Sri Lanka, helping to empower and uplift abused women in Sri Lanka. Violence against women and girls is one of the most prominent human rights violations in the world - it can affect anyone, despite social, economic or geographic boundaries.

Amilani uses fashion as a powerful tool to address and create awareness as well as inspire women and girls to challenge norms. Women and girls are often engaging with the apparel industry through design, production, modelling and more. And so, she engages survivors of violence through her product development, as well as hosts mentoring programmers to further enhance their fashion and design skills.

This October, Amilani Perera has partnered up with the Tambapanni Collective alongside another renowned Sri Lankan designer, Sonali Dharmawardena for a curated fashion show - ‘Ultra Luxe Lux Escapade Show’. A dramatic fashion show that promises bold luxury to all who attend.