Damith opens KIITO tailoring boutique

Damith Eranga Cooray, a versatile dress designer, who launched his own label ‘KIITO’ (thread of raw silk), has opened a boutique-type tailoring establishment discreetly located at Rosemead Place, Colombo 7, catering to the high-end market of tailoring and alterations.

Damith Eranga

“I was not satisfied with the way men’s clothing is traditionally tailored in Sri Lanka,” said Cooray. “In the usual way, one person helps you pick the design, another person takes the measurements, yet another person does the cutting, some one else does the stitching and so on and so forth. This takes the focus away from the customer and makes the garment a disjointed ‘thing’ and not a creative whole. We do only 50 suits per month on the average and all of them are personally cut by me,” Cooray said.

Cooray is Sri Lanka’s only UK qualified menswear consultant and Asia’s only tailor awarded the Licentiateship from the Textile Institute, UK, and he is awaiting the chartered status from the same chartered body for textiles, clothing and footwear, UK.

“I was blessed to be able to study at the UK’s no.1 university for clothing, the Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, the United Kingdom, up to degree level, where I specialized in International Clothing Technology and Design,” Cooray said.

A few top corporate clients, such as Brandix Director Aslam Omar, Stock Consultant Eardley Perera and the Deputy Ambassador of the Norwegian Embassy, Jon Otto Brødholt favour Cooray’s establishment with their custom. KIITO is providing a vast and complete service for businessmen in corporate attire including the suitable design for the client’s profession and lining up his entire wardrobe.

KIITO also has an exclusively designed ‘Visiting Tailor Service’ for corporate clients who are pressed for time to visit a tailor for their tailoring needs. Cooray visits them with a portfolio with over 300 suiting fabric samples for suits, trousers and shirts.

The first visit is for consultation on a suitable wardrobe to suit the corporate and other needs of the particular client and the taking of measurements, and next visit will take place at the client’s preferred venue for a fit-on session.

Once the fit-on is done to the complete satisfaction of the client, the finished product will be delivered to the client’s door-step by the following week.

Speaking of his future plans, Cooray said, “I will be re-launching the “Grooming by KIITO” concept, which I introduced in the year 2008.

This specially designed grooming package includes completely dressing the groom and his entire entourage by me and furnishing necessary make-up for them by a professional make-up artist, a service offered by a men’s tailor in Sri Lanka for the first time.”