Pink isn’t just for girls: a designer big on gender inclusivity, Amesh Wijesekera brings florals, prints and skorts to men’s fashion
- Amesh Wijesekera’s newest collection, Flower Boys, is ‘a soft take on masculinity’ and an exploration of romance, intimacy and vulnerability
- The designer believes that his gender-inclusive label helps address the harassment and violence the LGBT community in Sri Lanka often faces
In a recent Instagram post, Amesh Wijesekera stands surrounded by tropical ferns, philodendrons and caladiums in his courtyard in Mount Lavinia, a suburban town in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His long hair is up in a messy bun, and he wears a hand-painted floral fuchsia long-sleeved shirt and matching trousers. It is, as he notes in his caption, “a full Amesh ‘flower boy’ look”.
“Clothes aren’t just items,” says Wijesekera via a WhatsApp call in October from Berlin, Germany. “Fashion is my fantasy world to express who I am. I can break boundaries here.”
Wijesekera, 27, was born in London but grew up in Sri Lanka by the beach. His love for design – from making clothes to gardening to interiors – comes from his mother. “My mother is very artistic, but her parents didn’t allow her to follow her passion. She ended up being a lawyer who doesn’t practise law,” says Wijesekera. “So she gave her children the full freedom to do what they love.”
Wijesekera went to a public school in Colombo. After he graduated, he enrolled in a four-year design degree at the Academy of Design (AOD) in Colombo. In 2015, he won the Student Graduate Industry Collaboration Award at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion and Apparel Awards, which gave him the opportunity to go to London.
