Sri Lanka Design Festival 2012 Sets Sail from London, the Global Creative Hub
Positioning Sri Lanka as the ‘Land of Possibilities’, the festival offers a never-seen- before combination of cutting-edge apparel making, sustainable fashion, traditional craft, culture, design and business.
Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) 2012 was launched on 25th June with a glamorous event in London, long celebrated as the world’s creative hub. Over 100 personalities from the global creative industries gathered at the Shoreditch House as the plans for this annual international event were unveiled. This international launch marked SLDF’s commitment towards expanding the multi-billion dollar international links of the Sri Lankan creative industries where apparel exports alone exceeded $4 billion in 2011 recording 15% trade increase for both the UK and the US, despite the global economic downturn.
The 4th Edition of SLDF, due to be held in Colombo from the 14th – 18th of November this year, promises to be a unique gateway to South Asian creative industries through Sri Lanka. The festival positions Sri Lanka as the ‘Land of Possibilities’, through a never-seen-before combination of cutting edge apparel making, traditional craft, ethical fashion, culture, design and business.
SLDF engages a wide audience of international and local experts connecting designers, buyers, suppliers, manufacturers, opinion leaders and educationalists among influential personalities. The festival agenda presents these international delegates a number of opportunities from sustainable sourcing and networking to best practices for building business links with South Asia. Visits to world-class apparel manufacturing facilities (many working with leading global brands), award-winning eco plants and one-on-one meetings with these organizations will present great business opportunities along with a chance to hear about the groundbreaking initiatives taking place in Sri Lankan apparel industry and why Sri Lanka is known as the global leader in sustainable business models.
The prestigious South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum and the seminal ‘Sustainable Fashion Symposium’ are high profile international gatherings on the business of apparel and sustainable fashion. These Forums are not only a platform to share ideas and enrich the South Asian apparel sector, but are also a unique opportunity to hear about the trends, shifts and the future of world’s apparel and sustainable fashion sectors. Whilst the Festival has a strong business focus, it is also designed with a vibrant programme on sustainable design and traditional Sri Lankan craft.
SLDF invites the global apparel industry and fashion businesses to come to Sri Lanka and enjoy the many learning opportunities and sustainable apparel/ fashion business solutions presented at the Festival. SLDF is endorsed by the Government of Sri Lanka as the national initiative that employs the power of design and creativity for economic development.
SLDF is conceptualized and organised by Academy of Design (AOD) and partnered by SriLankan airlines – the official carrier, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics – official freight and logistics partner, TradeCard- official software partner and British Council as the knowledge partner. The programme line-up and the 2012 international speakers’ names are soon to be announced on the official website www.srilankadesignfestival.com. For more information contact info@srilankadesignfestival.com or +94115867772/3
