Ruwanthi Gajadeera (Sinhala: රුවන්ති පවිත්‍රා ගජධීර, Tamil: ருவந்தி பவித்ரா கஜதீர; born 20 August 1996) is a Sri Lankan sustainable fashion and textile designer.[1] She is the first South Asian fashion designer to win the Taiwan Fashion Design Awards at 2021 Taipei Fashion Week SS22.[2][3][4][5][6] She has also represented Sri Lanka in a variety of other international competitions such as Redress Design Awards 2021, Hong Kong,[7] International Baltic Ethnic Fashion Festival 2021, Saint Petersburg[8] and Graduate Fashion Week 2021, London.[9][10]

Ruwanthi Gajadeera
රුවන්ති පවිත්‍රා ගජධීර
ருவந்தி பவித்ரா கஜதீர
Born(1996-08-20)20 August 1996
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationNorthumbria University, University of Moratuwa, Ladies' College, Colombo
OccupationFashion designer
Years active2020-present
Labelkǣli

Through her designs, she attempts to communicate the importance of the slow fashion movement.[11][10] She approached her aesthetic from the perspective by incorporating generational qualities of fashion and Buddhist philosophies.[11][10] Ruwanthi's garments have showcased a combination of heritage crafts[1] and high-tech techniques that express 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) in the complete garment lifecycle.[11][12][13] She states that to create circular garments, she employs zero-waste, up-cycling, reconstruction techniques.[14][10]

Early life and education

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Ruwanthi was born in Colombo to a Buddhist family.[11] Ruwanthi spent her early childhood in Padiyathalawa, a town in Amapara.[11] Later on, she moved to Colombo and studied at Ladies' College, Colombo.[6] Upon completing her primary education she entered the University of Moratuwa to study landscape architecture,[11] but later she became more interested in fashion and textile design.[11] She dropped out of the University of Moratuwa and pursued her career in fashion design.[11]

Awards

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2021 Fashion Design Newcomer Award-First Prize Collection "kǣli"
  • Fashion Design Newcomer Award - Taiwan Fashion Design Awards (2021).[1][15][16][17]
  • First Prize in Eco Fashion - International Baltic Ethnic Fashion Festival (2021).[8]
  • First Runner-Up - International Catwalk Award at Graduate Fashion Week (2021).[10][9]
  • Semi-finalist - Redress Design Award (2021).[18][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "'kǣli – A Sustainable Collection' by Ruwanthi Gajadeera awarded with the 1st prize worth $ 10,000". Daily FT. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  2. ^ Taiwan Textile Federation (2021-10-06). "The Winner of the First Prize of 2021 Taiwan Fashion Design Award Gajadeera, Ruwanthi Pavithra, whose Works Perfectly Reflect the Concepts of Sustainability and Design Creativity". Available online:https://www.textiles.org.tw/TTF/main/news/wHandNews_File.ashx?type=2&news_id=12112. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  3. ^ Su, Yoyo (2021-10-06). "【2021臺北時裝週】2021時裝設計新人獎首獎揭曉!斯里蘭卡Gajadeera發揮永續概念及設計創意拔得頭籌". Vogue Taiwan (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  4. ^ "培植新銳不遺餘力 臺北時裝週借力使力躍上國際 -- 上報 / 消費". www.upmedia.mg. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  5. ^ "El Taiwan Fashion Design Award presentó a los ganadores el 6 de octubre". Pinker Moda (in Spanish). 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  6. ^ a b Ruwanthie Gajadeera becomes the first South Asian to win Taiwan Fashion Designer Award, retrieved 2021-11-07
  7. ^ a b Redress (2021-04-22). "REDRESS DESIGN AWARD 2021 SEMI-FINALISTS ANNOUNCED, SUPPORTING EMERGING SUSTAINABLE FASHION TALENT FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE". Available online: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/582d0d16440243165eb756db/t/608147a6f9f3065a214c2dc5/1619085222884/ENG+Semi-finalists+press+release.pdf. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  8. ^ a b Etnomoda. "RESULTS OF THE ONLINE IBEFF CONTEST 2021 — IBEFF" (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  9. ^ a b "AOD takes local design talent global again!". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  10. ^ a b c d e Gunawardhana, Tina Edward. "Fashion's future prospects". www.hi.lk. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Rahman, Sheikh Saifur. "'It's time to go back to the basics'". Prothomalo. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  12. ^ Seneviratne, Anuki (2021-06-21). "Ruwanthie Gajadeera: First Runner up at Graduate Fashion Week, London". Pulse. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  13. ^ Fashion Crossover London. "Ruwanthi Gajadeera | Academy of Design, LK 2020". www.fashioncrossover-london.com. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  14. ^ Anthony, Venessa (2021-06-20). "Sharing Sri Lankan heritage through design: Ruwanthi Gajadeera". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  15. ^ "The Winner of the First Prize of 2021 Taiwan Fashion Design Award, AOD Grad Ruwanthi Gajadeera, whose Work Perfectly Reflect the Concepts of Sustainability and Design Creativity". Adaderana Biz English | Sri Lanka Business News. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  16. ^ "Texdata International - Ruwanthi Pavithra Gajadeera is the winner of the First Prize of 2021 Taiwan Fashion Design Award". www.texdata.com. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  17. ^ IBC Tamil. "18 நாடுகள் 450 போட்டியாளர்கள்! முதலிடத்தை பிடித்து சாதனை படைத்த இலங்கை யுவதி". IBC Tamil. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  18. ^ Redress Limited. "2021 RUWANTHI PAVITHRA GAJADEERA". Redress Design Award. Retrieved 2021-11-05.