Cosmopolitan Germany
December 1987
Models
Perine Fernando
Copyrights
MVG Medien Verlagsgesellschaft Mbh & Co.
Perine Fernando
Sri Lankan
in Colombo, Sri Lanka
BIOGRAPHY
Perine Fernando: Sri Lanka's Trailblazing Supermodel
Early Life and Unexpected Beginnings
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Perine Fernando grew up in a close-knit family, the only sibling to inherit her father's towering stature—he stood just over 6 feet tall as a tea planter. Her childhood was quintessentially joyful yet sheltered: attending St. Paul's Milagiriya School, clumsily pedaling bicycles through the bustling Bambalapitiya flats, tumbling off in fits of laughter, and losing herself in games like seven stones or scaling neighborhood trees. These simple pleasures painted a picture of unassuming normalcy, far removed from the glamour of global runways.
At just 15, life took a dramatic turn. Perine's family uprooted to Switzerland, seeking medical care for her father after a botched surgery left him paralyzed from the waist down—a devastating loss that reshaped their world. "He never walked again," she reflects, her voice carrying the weight of that irrevocable change. For a girl who had never boarded a plane, this migration thrust her into an alien landscape of cold Alps and unfamiliar tongues. Yet, amid the chaos, Perine clung to a long-nurtured dream: modeling. With remarkable resolve, she enlisted her sister to snap raw snapshots—her in faded jeans and a plain T-shirt, face bare of makeup—and sent them to a Zurich agency. The response was electric: they adored her natural poise. From there, she dove into catalogues and ad campaigns, mastering the craft's subtleties, from poised strides to the art of "awake eyes" that captivate without effort.
Rise to International Stardom
Paris beckoned soon after, a siren call that tested her mettle. Towering at 5'11", Perine arrived as an exotic enigma—a fresh-faced Sri Lankan in a sea of polished Europeans. Confidence eluded her for years; from her "very regular" roots, the fashion capitals felt like forbidden realms. "I'm actually a very shy person," she admits. "I felt like I had to take that out... be this other person. That person on the runway was not really me." Her antidote? Surrender to the moment, letting instinct guide her.
It worked wonders. Perine's Paris Fashion Week debut shattered records with 17 shows in a single season—a whirlwind ferried by bicycle couriers darting through traffic from the Louvre to rail stations. Her breakthrough etched her name in haute couture lore. Through the pulsating '80s and '90s—the golden age of supermodels— she graced the collections of titans like Dior, Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro, Nina Ricci, Scherrer, and Pierre Cardin. Vogue and Cosmopolitan covers followed, immortalizing her as Lanka's lone "super" model to conquer London, Milan, and beyond.
What set Perine apart? Her unapologetic embrace of heritage. "I said I'm Sri Lankan and every time I said it, I said it with pride," she shares. Agents billed her as the "young Sri Lankan girl, almost just off the boat," a narrative that resonated in an era hungry for novelty. Designers sought the undiscovered: Armani demanded a crisp, boyish gait (she tempered her femininity to oblige), while Saint Laurent craved fluid hips and exotic allure. "It was so different in the 90s; they wanted girls from other parts of the world that they had not heard of," she notes. Amid icons like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, and her idol Iman—the Somali-American pioneer—Perine shone as a personality-driven force. Back then, a single supermodel could eclipse the clothes; today, she laments, "they all look the same... not enough exotic girls or girls of colour."
Pivots, Motherhood, and Enduring Legacy
By 1999, after a decade-plus of catwalk dominance, Perine traded runways for reinvention, joining Escada in New York as a creative force. The move marked a quieter chapter, but her fire endured. Now based in the city that never sleeps, she remains a fixture—fresh off New York Fashion Week in 2012, marveling at its $850 million economic pulse and 250,000 jobs. "If in my twenties I felt how I feel now, I could have achieved so much more," she muses, crediting motherhood for her bloom. Married to fellow model Damon Weeks, their son Jayhan (10 at the time) adores Sri Lanka, pleading to relocate. "Becoming a mother has made me more comfortable and confident," she says, her regimen of weight training and mindful eating sculpting a form she deems "better than ever."
A Homecoming and Heartfelt Reflections
In 2012, Perine returned as spokesperson for HSBC Colombo Fashion Week, a poignant full-circle moment amid the fairy-lit courtyards of the Old Dutch Hospital. Sashaying with effortless charisma, she turned heads as effortlessly as in her prime, eager to bridge Sri Lanka's budding talents with global stages. "I'm really grateful... I'm particularly looking forward to meeting local designers and models," she enthused, eyes alight with possibility.
From Colombo's tree-climbing tomboy to Paris's poised phenom, Perine's odyssey is a testament to grit and grace. "I couldn't imagine that I could have gone from there to the runways of Milan and Paris. It was the best education I could have got." Today, at 50-plus, she embodies timeless power—exotic, resilient, and forever proud of her island roots. A local legend who walked the world, Perine Fernando reminds us: true strut comes from the soul.
Early Life and Unexpected Beginnings
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Perine Fernando grew up in a close-knit family, the only sibling to inherit her father's towering stature—he stood just over 6 feet tall as a tea planter. Her childhood was quintessentially joyful yet sheltered: attending St. Paul's Milagiriya School, clumsily pedaling bicycles through the bustling Bambalapitiya flats, tumbling off in fits of laughter, and losing herself in games like seven stones or scaling neighborhood trees. These simple pleasures painted a picture of unassuming normalcy, far removed from the glamour of global runways.
At just 15, life took a dramatic turn. Perine's family uprooted to Switzerland, seeking medical care for her father after a botched surgery left him paralyzed from the waist down—a devastating loss that reshaped their world. "He never walked again," she reflects, her voice carrying the weight of that irrevocable change. For a girl who had never boarded a plane, this migration thrust her into an alien landscape of cold Alps and unfamiliar tongues. Yet, amid the chaos, Perine clung to a long-nurtured dream: modeling. With remarkable resolve, she enlisted her sister to snap raw snapshots—her in faded jeans and a plain T-shirt, face bare of makeup—and sent them to a Zurich agency. The response was electric: they adored her natural poise. From there, she dove into catalogues and ad campaigns, mastering the craft's subtleties, from poised strides to the art of "awake eyes" that captivate without effort.
Rise to International Stardom
Paris beckoned soon after, a siren call that tested her mettle. Towering at 5'11", Perine arrived as an exotic enigma—a fresh-faced Sri Lankan in a sea of polished Europeans. Confidence eluded her for years; from her "very regular" roots, the fashion capitals felt like forbidden realms. "I'm actually a very shy person," she admits. "I felt like I had to take that out... be this other person. That person on the runway was not really me." Her antidote? Surrender to the moment, letting instinct guide her.
It worked wonders. Perine's Paris Fashion Week debut shattered records with 17 shows in a single season—a whirlwind ferried by bicycle couriers darting through traffic from the Louvre to rail stations. Her breakthrough etched her name in haute couture lore. Through the pulsating '80s and '90s—the golden age of supermodels— she graced the collections of titans like Dior, Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro, Nina Ricci, Scherrer, and Pierre Cardin. Vogue and Cosmopolitan covers followed, immortalizing her as Lanka's lone "super" model to conquer London, Milan, and beyond.
What set Perine apart? Her unapologetic embrace of heritage. "I said I'm Sri Lankan and every time I said it, I said it with pride," she shares. Agents billed her as the "young Sri Lankan girl, almost just off the boat," a narrative that resonated in an era hungry for novelty. Designers sought the undiscovered: Armani demanded a crisp, boyish gait (she tempered her femininity to oblige), while Saint Laurent craved fluid hips and exotic allure. "It was so different in the 90s; they wanted girls from other parts of the world that they had not heard of," she notes. Amid icons like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, and her idol Iman—the Somali-American pioneer—Perine shone as a personality-driven force. Back then, a single supermodel could eclipse the clothes; today, she laments, "they all look the same... not enough exotic girls or girls of colour."
Pivots, Motherhood, and Enduring Legacy
By 1999, after a decade-plus of catwalk dominance, Perine traded runways for reinvention, joining Escada in New York as a creative force. The move marked a quieter chapter, but her fire endured. Now based in the city that never sleeps, she remains a fixture—fresh off New York Fashion Week in 2012, marveling at its $850 million economic pulse and 250,000 jobs. "If in my twenties I felt how I feel now, I could have achieved so much more," she muses, crediting motherhood for her bloom. Married to fellow model Damon Weeks, their son Jayhan (10 at the time) adores Sri Lanka, pleading to relocate. "Becoming a mother has made me more comfortable and confident," she says, her regimen of weight training and mindful eating sculpting a form she deems "better than ever."
A Homecoming and Heartfelt Reflections
In 2012, Perine returned as spokesperson for HSBC Colombo Fashion Week, a poignant full-circle moment amid the fairy-lit courtyards of the Old Dutch Hospital. Sashaying with effortless charisma, she turned heads as effortlessly as in her prime, eager to bridge Sri Lanka's budding talents with global stages. "I'm really grateful... I'm particularly looking forward to meeting local designers and models," she enthused, eyes alight with possibility.
From Colombo's tree-climbing tomboy to Paris's poised phenom, Perine's odyssey is a testament to grit and grace. "I couldn't imagine that I could have gone from there to the runways of Milan and Paris. It was the best education I could have got." Today, at 50-plus, she embodies timeless power—exotic, resilient, and forever proud of her island roots. A local legend who walked the world, Perine Fernando reminds us: true strut comes from the soul.
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