Dr Ayesha Wickramasinghe from the Fashion Design and Product Development, Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, University of Moratuwa, was honoured with the State Literacy Award 2022 for the Best Academic and Research work (English-2021). The award ceremony was held on the 28th of October 2022, at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the aegis of Hon. President Ranil Wickramasinghe, and was organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.
The first ever Literacy Festival commenced on the 07th of September 1957, at the Sri Parakumba Pirivena, Sri Jayawardenepura. 2022 marks it as the oldest literary award ceremony in Sri Lanka. The event was organized by the Advisory Board of Literature consisting of Venerable Polwatte, Budhdhadatta Thero, Velivitiye Soratha Thero, Venerable Kodagoda Gnanaloka Thero, Venerable Kahandamodara Piyarathana Thero, Kotahene Pannakiththi Thero, Bambarande Sirisivali Thero, as well as scholars such as E.A. Abeysekera, Martin Wickramasingha, W.A. Silva, Amaradasa Weerasingha, T.B. Peramune Thilaka. At present, the literary awards are presented to literary works written in three languages; Sinhala, English and Tamil by the literati who nurture the nation through their great works.
Dr Wickramasinghe has made history by being the first academic at the University of Moratuwa who is conferred with the State Literacy Award. She received this prestigious award for her first book publication, The Dress of Women in Sri Lanka. This was published based on her PhD research dissertation as a request made by the principal supervisor, Professor Sarath Chandrajeewa, former Vice Chancellor of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts. She was the first PhD candidate to receive a doctorate from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of the Visual and Performing Arts, and was the first to submit a dissertation from the English medium to the faculty.
The publication of The Dress of Women in Sri Lanka was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the publication grant scheme for promoting science and technology publications. The book chiefly focuses on evaluating the aesthetic values of female clothing in the 20th century, analyzing the geographical, historical, patriotic, political, ethnic, caste and sexual interactions of the era. To achieve this, the book focuses on the colonial, postcolonial and industrial periods, addressing a number of vital arguments concerning female clothing approaches in the context of relevant fashion movements.
Dr Wickramasinghe represents the first batch of students from the Fashion Design and Product Development Degree at the Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, University of Moratuwa. She graduated in 2006 with a 1st class, winning the Gold Medal Sponsored by MAS Holdings (Pvt) for the best overall performance during the four-year degree programme. She joined the department in 2006 while working as a Technical Designer at MAS Intimates. She has obtained her primary and secondary education at Southlands College, Galle. She also holds a master’s degree from The London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom. Furthermore, she has gained foreign exposure as a designer by working at Victoria’s Secret, USA, and a few fashion boutiques in London, UK during her master’s study. She currently supervises multiple postgraduate students in the fields of Fashion and Textile design, History, Culture, and Crafts Sectors by collaborating with many international researchers.
