Ambitiously Artistic: Amilani Perera, Fashion Designer
By Ananya Abeygunasekera
Fiercely determined and a little rebellious, she knew from the age of 14 that she wanted to be a fashion designer. From that moment, everything she did was focused on turning that dream into reality. She is a mother and a wife first, and beyond that, her brand is exactly what it seems - what you see is what you get. The name itself, Amilani Perera, reflects who she is, carrying her vision and values into every collection. Her path to fashion was deliberate. For her A-levels, she studied art, economics, and business, combining creativity with strategy from an early age. After fashion school, she completed an MBA, blending design and business into a career she could build, sustain, and shape into something that reflected both her life and her values. From the start, fashion was never just a dream for Amilani - it was a calling, a way to turn a sustainable vision into reality.
Crafting Stories
A typical day in Amilani’s Colombo studio starts with a call to her manager to check fittings and schedules, then moves to the production space where fabrics are examined and decisions made. Sketches cover the Wonderwall, evolving as the team tests and refines ideas, while calls from her husband and son weave in between-a reminder that life outside the studio continues even as pieces are completed.
Inspiration is never far from what she loves and believes in. Her brand carries her name because it is, quite literally, who she is. Women’s empowerment, literature, Sri Lankan art history, and international art traditions all inform her vision. Her new collection, Himagiri, is drawn from her favourite childhood drama, Maname. In her adaptation, the princess, long shaped by the choices of others, chooses peace over violence, claiming agency in a narrative where her life was once dictated by men. The fabrics themselves carry meaning too, woven in partnership with survivors of gender-based violence through the United Nations, embedding their stories into each piece.
Story, fabric, and technique evolve together. The narrative shapes the prints, the prints guide the fabrics, and new methods-engraving, laser cutting, and innovative textures-bring the transformation of her characters to life. The Maname princess moves from naive girl to independent woman, reflected in both materials and silhouettes.
Sri Lankan heritage stays at the core, but Amilani keeps it wearable and modern. Traditional embroidery and prints sit alongside new fabrications and avant-garde pieces, while ready-to-wear options let her audience bring the collection into their own lives. Every garment balances history, craft, storytelling, and social impact-showing that fashion can be meaningful, wearable, and beautiful all at once.
Women at the Heart
If she weren’t a fashion designer, Amilani imagines she would be working in humanitarian efforts, empowering women and taking Sri Lanka’s impact global. In many ways, she has already built that path through her work, weaving social impact into the very fabric of her brand. Since 2020, her partnership with the UNFPA has been a full 360 project: she teaches survivors of gender-based violence fashion skills, guides them in weaving fabrics, and integrates their work directly into her collections. The collections themselves carry meaning. The 2022 Heal collection confronted a question survivors face worldwide - “What were you wearing?”- a question that has nothing to do with the violence they endured. Every garment, from pyjamas to saris, was made by women who had experienced trauma, linking fashion directly with their stories. Over the years, this work has expanded beyond Sri Lanka to the Asia-Pacific region, with showcases in Singapore and Australia, including Melbourne Fashion Week. Through these collaborations, Amilani demonstrates that fashion can empower, tell stories, and challenge gender-based violence on a global stage.
Moments That Stay
If Amilani could design for anyone, it would be her mother, who passed away before she had the chance to start her career-a tribute to the woman who inspired her earliest dreams and continues to influence her work today. She imagines dressing her in one of her printed sarees, a simple yet personal tribute to the woman who first inspired her love of fashion. Her mother, a doctor who spent her days helping others, had never focused on clothes for herself, yet she instilled in Amilani a sense of care, attention, and style from the earliest days-dressing her thoughtfully even for kindergarten, sometimes prompting visits from teachers just to admire her daughter’s outfits. For Amilani, dressing her mother now is a way to honour that influence and the bond that shaped her vision.
Fashion has taught Amilani that it brings out the best in her. Whenever she is stressed or happy, she sketches, letting creativity guide her through every emotion. Her work fosters family-like connections-the first thing she does when coming to Sri Lanka is visit her team, sharing stories and ideas. Fashion brings out a motherly, nurturing side in her that extends to her team, husband, and son, and she feels deeply blessed to be surrounded by people who inspire and support her.
For future generations to remember, Amilani points to a moment from her Heal collection, showcased with UNFPA at Colombo Fashion Week 2022. A model in the middle of the show kept changing layers of clothing-each representing different ways girls in Sri Lanka have been violated-from a hijab to a sari. To top it off, one of those layers was a silk school uniform with a gold, glitzy sequin tie. The audience gasped at the sight of the uniform, a simple, everyday outfit that women often get catcalled in yet rarely see represented with such intention on a runway. It was a powerful, poignant moment that stayed with both the audience and Amilani, one she truly loves and remembers as a highlight of her career.
For Amilani, these pieces are more than clothes-they carry stories, memories, and meaning. Whether honouring her mother, empowering women, or highlighting moments of awareness, her work blends creativity with purpose. Fashion, for her, is as much about connection and legacy as it is about design.
The Himagiri collection will next be presented at its retail launch on Oxford Street in Paddington, Sydney, Australia, from 20th to 24th May 2026.
