This week we sat down with the talented and fashionable Chanika Jayathilake who happens to be the Creative Director and Founder of one of the premier boutique destinations in Indian fashion, Raaya Clothing & Accessories. Having completed her degree in Business and Marketing Management in the UK, she returned to Sri Lanka and worked with a leading conglomerate specialising in the apparel marketing sector. Since childhood, she has always been a big fan of Indian fashion and Bollywood cinema, and thus decided to merge her love for fashion and Bollywood into a business. Raaya Clothing & Accessories is a premier boutique destination that curates the finest in ethnic Indian fashion ensembles and accessories, where traditional meets contemporary, and is a result of combining her childhood interest with adult ambition. Representing the pinnacle of modern luxury, Raaya houses tasteful collections of evening and casual wear for women, as well as accessories, jewellery and footwear. The range features coveted designs that personify vibrant ethnic elegance. The Raaya team identifies the latest trends and presents fashion-forward items finished with fine embroidery, zari, resham, motif, lace, and sequin work, to name a few. Whilst most pieces are handpicked merchandise from India, there are also chosen pieces exquisitely crafted with the marriage of the most feminine fabrics, flattering silhouettes, and quality tailoring. Raaya envisions bringing in ethnic Indian craftsmanship to the forefront of Sri Lankan retail. The store operates in the heart of Colombo providing customers easy access and convenience whilst shopping for their products. This year seems to have caught quite the wedding fever as quite a few of our favourite Bollywood actresses; from Deepika Padukone, to Anushka Sharma, to Sonam Kapoor, and currently Priyanka Chopra, have had extravagant weddings and we couldn’t help but drool over their many amazing outfits on Instagram. So we decided to get a few tips from Chanika herself as to how we too can make sure our Indian outfits look Bollywood worthy (you know, in case we are ever lucky enough to attend a celebrity Indian wedding…I mean one can always dream, right?) 6 tips on how to make that Indian outfit work 1. Drape that lehenga shawl differently – you don’t need to just pin it on your shoulder and let it fall! Pin it from the back and take it under your arm and drape it like a saree for a more desi-licious look 2. Accessorise your plain kurta with a palazzo pant, and make that standard work wear trendier 3. Get your saree blouse high-necked and sequined, to achieve the ultimate traditional, yet classy outlook 4. Wearing a plain salwar? Accessorise it with a statement necklace or pair of earrings, and change your ensemble from casual wear to evening wear in a jiffy 5. So many crop tops and don’t know what to do? Tweak your crop tops by pairing them with a lehenga, and achieve the Indo-western trendy feel 6. Use a maang tikka for some cool headgear, or an embellished clutch bag and get your accessory game going real strong Make sure you follow her on Instagram and in order to be up-to-date with the latest Indian trends. IG: @raaya_clothing/@chanika55