Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Courtesy of Lovi Ceylon
Striving relentlessly to revolutionize the Lovi Ceylon brand he so lovingly created a few years ago, designer and entrepreneur Asanka De Mel has joined forces with Sri Lankan singing sensation Yohani to create clothing for her upcoming world tour and soon to be released music videos.
Leaving the lucrative appeal of Silicon Valley where Asanka worked as a technopreneur he returned to Sri Lanka to satiate his creative desires to create a unique Sri Lankan fashion identity – his experiment began with the humble sarong to which he introduced a practical pocket and a belt. Within weeks Lovi Ceylon sarongs became a staple in every discerning man’s wardrobe.
Women too clamoured to don a sarong with a pocket and soon Asanka launched a collection of sarongs for women. Buoyed by the positive response from his clientele, Asanka then took a bold step with his vision of the sarong and played with the length of the sarong to create a raft of stylish designs. Since then the brand has evolved further and the designs have come full circle. Both Sri Lankans and those in the Diaspora love his concept and vision and wear Lovi clothing with pride. By joining forces with Yohani, Asanka’s desire to introduce a clothing identity intended to be worn by the ‘New
Sri Lankan’ is coming to fruition. Asanka has created a stunning custom made capsule collection exclusively for Yohani.
This collection aims to showcase the abilities of Sri Lankan craftsmen who tirelessly promote heritage crafts. Some of the pieces created for Yohani will be released as limited editions in his store. He calls his collaboration with Yohani “serendipitious” and they both steadfastly embrace the New Sri Lankan identity presented by Lovi in this new collection.
