It is a popular Sinhalese idiom that plays on Sri Lankan fashion designer Yasomali Sandaruwani’s mind when she buys clothing for her two young daughters.
The pair, aged 4 and 6, are at an age where they outgrow any new clothing within months, and the cost of clothing in New Zealand makes life very expensive for young families.
Mrs Sandaruwani said the solution was to make children’s clothing more sustainable and wearable for longer.
So over the past 12 months, Mrs Sandaruwani has been designing a collection of adjustable children’swear as part of her studies at Otago Polytechnic, and today she will graduate with a master of design (fashion) degree.
Her clothing design, called "Made to Grow, Built to Last", incorporates versatility into dresses that can be adjusted by unzipping colourful sections, or by clipping the straps on to different buttons.
It allowed preschoolers to wear the garments right through into their early school years, she said.
"They feature sustainability, durability and longevity.
"I also wanted to incorporate playfulness, so the garments are designed to cope with the active engagement of young children.
"If I didn’t have two kids, I might not have even thought about this product. The inspiration came from them."
Mrs Sandaruwani moved to Dunedin from Sri Lanka with her family in May last year, to study towards her master’s degree in fashion design, after working in Sri Lanka’s clothing industry.
Sri Lanka was an international manufacturing hub for apparel and clothing was the country’s leading export, she said.
She had undertaken a range of roles across the industry, including as a merchandiser, fashion designer and assistant buyer, and had worked with big global brands such as Patagonia, Nike and Calvin Klein.
Following her graduation, she plans to pitch her clothing designs to the Audacious Startup Dunedin programme, and hopes to stay in New Zealand with her family for at least a few more years while she pursues her new goal of establishing her own clothing company.
Mrs Sandaruwani is among 136 students who will cross the stage at Otago Polytechnic’s spring graduation at the Dunedin Town Hall today.
