Well, Christmas is now in the past and we are in the midst of those six days in between Christmas and New Year when practically nothing is expected of us. While this is a very broad generalisation, for most of us, this week is indeed a time to take things slow, to ruminate over the past year and plan, albeit nominally, for the next.
This is the time to make new year’s resolutions and be ambitious about sticking to them, and, importantly, this is also the time to plan for New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day, based on whether you’re a night owl or an early bird (we must note here that New Year’s Eve is one of the few magical nights where we see these two personalities overlap with their waking hours).
New Year’s Eve, if you’re going out that is, is never complete without the right outfit, and though we are still very much in the middle of a pandemic, our celebratory spirit has not been dampened, and we will all be finding ways to celebrate the dawn of 2022 responsibly albeit beautifully.
And this is where IKIGAI comes in. IKIGAI is a minimal, chic ready-to-wear brand with refined silhouettes and a less-is-more attitude – the perfect balance for a responsible New Year’s Eve celebration. We chatted with IKIGAI Founder and Designer Sandani Perera for some of her thoughts on what to channel through style this New Year’s Eve, what 2021 has been like for her and other small brands like IKIGAI and her hopes for 2022.
The IKIGAI client, as you can tell by IKIGAI’s offering, is discreet. “They’re someone whose taste runs minimalistic, with an eye for clean construction and silhouettes that are not loud or noisy,” Sandani explained, adding that this is what many people will be looking to communicate with their style this year, something restrained but still elegant.
“It would be something almost like a power outfit – oversized blazers, high-waisted pants and crop tops – I feel that as we are getting out of the pandemic and preparing to face a new world, people will want to look and feel confident,” Sandani said when asked to envision her perfect New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day look, adding that minimal yet luxurious clothing is what will evoke this quiet confidence best.
IKIGAI’s newest collection, launched at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Sri Lanka earlier this month, encapsulates this quiet yet strong confidence and sense of self, featuring some of the key pieces Sandani described as well as lightweight trenchcoats and bomber jackets that evoke a sense of playful structure.
“IKIGAI’s new collection wants to help clients communicate confidence in themselves through clean, minimal, timeless silhouettes that allows their own personalities to come through as well with how they decide to style their outfits. The collection is versatile and has no set look so that anyone can use it to project the look and style they want to,” Sandani explained, taking us through what guided her when she conceptualised IKIGAI’s latest offering.
With 2021 having been a challenging year for everyone with the pandemic, Sandani shared it’s good to see people slowly trying to get out of the lockdown mindset and starting to invest more in what they wear again, starting with how they choose to ring in the new year.
Looking to the future, Sandani shared that the struggle is far from over, with the pandemic still ongoing as well as the current economic situation, but she remains hopeful that 2022 will bring with it positive growth. “I feel like selling online will be a big part of going forward, and I hope that small brands and businesses are able to continue that and build their markets through online spaces,” she said. “For IKIGAI, I’m hoping to make the brand available in other spaces as well as online. We currently only retail physically at Urban Island, so I’m hoping to expand not just to other places in Colombo, but other parts of Sri Lanka as well, and I hope this is something that other small brands will be able to make happen in 2022 as well. My key wish for 2022 is that everyone manages to get out of this current situation and we can get rid of this pandemic and move forward, she added.
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