By Honorary Reporter Minnath Azeez from Sri Lanka

Aakashya Perera is a Sri Lankan fashion designer who attracted attention in 2021 with her Hanbok-inspired collection at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Sri Lanka. Having attended the Academy of Design, one of the country's best-known design schools, she is now a fashion designer at Ekko, a prominent fashion brand in her country. 

After graduating from the academy, she launched her brand Arkae featuring her graduate collection inspired by Hanbok. 

The following are excerpts from a Feb. 23 email interview with her.

Describe your Hanbok-inspired graduate collection.
My graduate collection was called "Walk through Seoul (The Resilient Journey)" and featured contemporary Korean shapes with prints. The inspiration for the silhouettes came from the elaborate clothing and royal attire of Korea's Joseon Dynasty. I used a modern approach to reinterpret traditional ideas by including elements of street style and incorporating a vibrant color palette. The collection featured intricate bow details, foil prints and padded clothing.

Aakashya Perera models Hanbok-inspired clothing from her graduate collection. (Shruthi Bandara)

How did you grow interested in Korean designs?
As a child, I was always intrigued by Korean culture as it never failed to fascinate me, from the country's traditional bold aesthetic clothing and accessories to historical sites and food. I also had an undying love of K-dramas, especially the historical ones. The extravagant royal attire from the Joseon era played a huge role in inspiring me to design this collection.

What is your favorite piece in this collection and what inspired it?
My favorite is the Hyein pink princess skirt inspired by a skirt from traditional Hanbok. With unique prints, rich fabrics and padded layers incorporated into the skirt to give it an extravagant look, watching this design turn into reality was amazing. The skirt was inspired by my childhood love for royal attire from the Joseon era.

The designer says her Hyein pink princess skirt was inspired by a skirt from traditional Hanbok (Aakashya Perera)

How did Sri Lankans respond to your collection?
Many in Sri Lanka don't usually see Korean designs and techniques incorporated into domestic clothing, so audiences here found my collection unique. Many die-hard fans of Korean culture loved the traditional silhouette designs with a modern twist.

Your designs were inspired by Hanbok, so was it hard to recreate signature elements?
I found it challenging to create designs worn in the 21st century while retaining major elements of Hanbok worn during the Joseon Dynasty. I studied a lot about how Korean artists and designers created modern clothing through inspiration from historical elements. Learning from them, I extracted multiple details of elegant traditional Hanbok by virtually visiting exhibitions and museums in Korea and sketching the attire. To give the collection a contemporary look, I incorporated modern design trends and elements into it.

Aakashya Perera said she sought to balance modern designs with the traditional style of the Joseon Dynasty. (Aakashya Perera)

Who were some of the Korean designers you were inspired by when working on this collection?
While doing research for my collection, I came across many Korean designers who inspired me with their designs. Jin Teok, a pioneer in Korean haute couture, stood out because she excels in unique designs with exquisite cuts inspired by Korean culture. I also liked silhouettes created by Im Seon-seok and Jung Mi-sun, who reinterpret traditional Korean clothing while merging them with modern Western attire.

Those who did stuff for K-pop acts also inspired me a lot. Kim Dan-ha, who created outfits for BLACKPINK, showed through her creations a stunning mix of contemporary clothing with a touch of historical elements.

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.