Label ” Innovation”understands style and elegance

Ruweni from the label “Innovation ” is always passionate about fabrics, from denim to silks, cottons and rayon. “My mother and me have always been a lover of textiles from a very young age. What sets the designer apart are thier ongoing experiments with fabric manipulation that have led to some distinctive surface textures.

Ruweni pictures the label ‘Innovation ’ as someone who understands style and likes to add a twist that makes each ensemble uniquely her own. As someone who has already been designing for several years does she ever feel like she’ll run out of steam? What keeps you going, she says, It is my

“great talent, it always motivates me to push my limits and break out of my comfort zone”

Ruwani Perera the founder of the popular ‘Innovation’ label has been a textile person, the proud owner of Malas, a renowned government factory located in Panadura. This detailed background ensured success in the fashion industry.

Fashion is growing really fast and the pace of the industry demands that entrepreneurs think about scaling in this crowded market. I was fortunate enough to get the right set of the mentors at a very early stage of my career. They guided me on tech, growth and strategy. Seek a great mentor to take you down the right path. As an entrepreneur, it is also very important to manage your time. Fashion can get very competitive. Today social media has become the fashion channel for all millennials, so having influencers produce content that you can backlink to your pages and website always helps. Ensure that you build models to retain users and create seamless user experiences as well as an aftersales plan. If you haven’t started yet, this is the best time to start, as the best of the resources are available today. If you want to catch a fish, you have to stand in the stream.

Innovation Revamped– The Story

She then went onto study fashion at LIFT to enhance her credentials and widen her repertoire. Later, she set up a small firm called Innovation in Yatiyantota (Kegalle) with a few limited staff members to start producing samples and fulfilling wholesale orders for reputed clothing brands around the country. Immediately, she understood the demand it was gaining through the continually increasing orders. This led to a move to Pepiliyana where she set up a home visit clothing shop to start selling B2C.

She wanted to be closer to the customers and hoped to gain more inputs on consumer demand. Gradually, the small shop started gaining attention through word of mouth. Then in 2014, the family relocated to Kirulapona and the grand opening of the newly built store was declared open on the 18th of March 2016, named Innovation Revamped to signify the new and improved clothing brand. The brand offers a whole host of services to its customers. For example, if a customer happens to not be able to find the right fit, the brand offers alterations to provide the best fit. This could be a simple case of needing the shoulders to be widened, the sleeve to be-extended/shortened or a dress length needing an extension etc.

Ruwani also undertakes customized orders/tailoring for ladies. This may be a requirement for a specific material or perhaps a different colour that is not available at the store or a specific design they may desire. Furthermore, production is in-house, and the factory is located nearby the store with outsourced batik centres and embroidery under the purview of the owner and designer, Ruwani Perera. To this day, she is at the forefront of the production, development, and expansion of the brand, Innovation Revamped. She is also supported by her two sons that share the workload with her in different facets of the company alongside her husband that continues to support her through the entrepreneurial journey that aims to provide high quality and unique clothing to its customers.

In addition, the factory has limited staff but ensures the materials and production is at its highest quality to match the prices customers pay and it must be noted that Innovation products have limited stock to ensure exclusivity to the customer.