Chathuri Samaraweera, Anaya’s Collection,
Where Emotion Becomes Couture And Every Woman Becomes A Story
By Ami Pandey
Fashion in Dubai often moves with a pace that mirrors the city itself, restless, ambitious, always reaching forward. Yet in the midst of this rapid evolution, a few voices choose to create at a different frequency. They do not follow the noise; they follow emotion. They do not chase relevance; they shape it. Among these rare visionaries is Chathuri Samaraweera, the founder and creative director of ANAYA, a brand built not merely from fabric and form, but from memory, introspection, and the belief that a woman’s inner world is the most powerful source of design.
ANAYA is a label that emerged quietly, almost intuitively, but it has since carved out one of the most distinct identities in the Middle Eastern fashion landscape. Its designs are soft yet structured, timeless yet modern, intimate yet undeniably global. And at the heart of it lies a woman who sees fashion not as an industry, but as a deeply emotional art.
A Childhood Inside a Gallery
Every designer has an origin story, but Chathuri’s feels almost cinematic. Before she ever touched chiffon or sculpted satin, her world was shaped by the rhythms of art. Her father owned an art gallery, a space where sculptures towered above her childhood and where paintbrushes, canvas textures, and color palettes became her early companions.
While other children grew up surrounded by toys, she grew up surrounded by stories, visual, abstract, emotional. “Art was home,” she often reflects. And it is this early exposure that quietly planted the seeds of her aesthetic philosophy.
Years later, motherhood would give shape to the brand’s name. ANAYA was not a strategic choice; it was a tribute to her daughter, a symbolic continuation of the emotional lineage she inherited from her own father. It was, in many ways, an inheritance of meaning. And meaning continues to guide everything the brand creates.
“ANAYA started with a simple vision,” Chathuri says. “To celebrate the strength and softness within every woman, to design pieces that feel like an extension of her inner light.”
This intention, gentle yet powerful, has remained the brand’s core.
A Design Philosophy Rooted in Emotion
What makes ANAYA instantly recognizable is its commitment to feel before form. Chathuri designs like someone who views fashion as a second language, a way of translating emotion into silhouette.
Her collections do not follow fleeting trends or social media aesthetics; they emerge from lived moments, sensory experiences, and artistic memories.
Her inspirations are deeply reflective:
- The organic architecture of Gaudí.
- The underwater silence of the Balearic Islands.
- The fluid movement of Posidonia waves like underwater poetry.
- Cultural textures discovered during her travels.
- Memories that cling to her imagination long after the moment passes.
“I design from emotion first and structure second,” she explains. It is a philosophy that gives ANAYA its unmistakable softness, a softness that is not fragile but deeply feminine and assured.
Couture Meets Accessibility
In Dubai’s competitive fashion scene, many brands struggle to maintain a balance between couture artistry and ready-to-wear practicality. ANAYA has mastered it. The secret lies in its definition of luxury. For Chathuri, luxury does not equal extravagance.
“Luxury is intention,” she says, a line that encapsulates everything the brand stands for.
Whether a gown takes hundreds of hand-beaded hours or whether a ready-to-wear piece is sculpted with minimalist precision, the same thread of craftsmanship runs through it. The silhouettes may simplify, but the artistry never does. Clean lines, architectural cuts, refined detailing, every element is purposeful.
This commitment ensures that ANAYA’s pieces remain both wearable and transcendent, allowing the brand to embrace accessibility without losing its couture soul.
Dubai Design District
If there is a creative home for ANAYA, it is Dubai Design District. D3 is more than a location, it is an ecosystem where art, fashion, architecture, and innovation coexist. Being based in D3 means that ANAYA breathes the same air as global designers, stylists, buyers, and visionaries. The district’s multicultural energy mirrors the brand’s own identity: hybrid, evolving, and deeply international.
“Being in D3 pushes us to elevate our craft,” Chathuri reflects.
The exposure it brings, from international markets to industry collaborations, has played a defining role in ANAYA’s trajectory. It is here that the brand matured from a Dubai-grown label into a name recognized by global audiences.
The Silent Thread of the Brand
In a world where sustainability is sometimes treated as a marketing strategy, ANAYA approaches it with quiet sincerity. Couture, by nature, embodies sustainability through intentionality and longevity. Chathuri leans into this truth, creating a brand that resists wastefulness and celebrates craftsmanship.
- Made-to-order production ensures minimal fabric waste.
- Local artisans and small ateliers carry forward handcrafted traditions.
- High-quality materials ensure longevity rather than seasonal relevance.
- Every design is timeless enough to live beyond a single event or trend.
“Sustainability is a responsibility,” she emphasizes. It is not an aesthetic, it is ethics stitched into the foundation of ANAYA.
Inspiration That Moves Like Water
The most poetic part of Chathuri’s creative process is the way she draws inspiration from movement. She is fascinated by fluidity, ocean waves, the movement of marine plants, the ripple of architectural shadows on stone surfaces. Many of ANAYA’s gowns seem to echo this fascination. Their layers float rather than fall. Their embellishments mimic shimmer rather than shine. Their silhouettes move as though they carry their own tide.
The Balearic Dreaming collection is perhaps the clearest example. It was inspired by the hours Chathuri spent underwater, observing Posidonia, those dense meadows of seagrass, moving in synchronized silence. She describes the moment as “watching poetry breathe.” And in her gowns, that poetry remains alive.
A Dialogue Between Woman and Designer
While ANAYA produces ready-to-wear pieces, it is the brand’s bespoke work that reveals its heart. Chathuri treats custom design like an intimate collaboration. The process begins not with sketches, but with conversation, about who the woman is, what she feels drawn to, and how she imagines herself in the moment she is dressing for.
From there, sketches transform into fabrics, fittings become sculptures, and each piece begins to reflect both the client’s dream and ANAYA’s design identity. The challenge lies in blending individual vision with the brand’s signature aesthetic, but it is a challenge Chathuri embraces with warmth.
“A custom gown must honor her story,” she says. And when a client sees herself, in the purest sense, in the final piece, the process becomes more than design. It becomes a connection.
The Middle Eastern Voice on the Global Stage
As the world increasingly turns its attention to Middle Eastern designers, ANAYA plays a meaningful role in shaping that narrative. Chathuri’s work carries the region’s grace, femininity, and softness, but it also infuses European couture structure and contemporary global appeal.
Her presence at Paris Fashion Week and growing international clientele signal a brand that is not just local, but proudly, confidently global. ANAYA represents a new chapter in the Middle East’s fashion identity: elegant, thoughtful, emotionally rich, and technically skilled.
Technology That Assists, Not Replaces
In an era where AI-generated designs and virtual fittings are becoming standard, ANAYA remains deeply committed to the human touch. Chathuri still sketches by hand, drapes fabric on mannequins, and refines pieces through physical fittings. She believes technology can support, but never replace, the emotional intimacy required in couture.
Digital pattern-making, grading systems, and AI-driven consumer insights streamline efficiency, but the artistry remains unmistakably human. “A dress behaves differently on every woman,” she says. To understand that, a designer must feel, see, and listen, activities no algorithm can replicate.
Expansion, New Chapters, and Wider Horizons
ANAYA’s future is luminous. The brand is exploring global stockists across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Discussions for celebrity collaborations are underway. The brand’s Paris Fashion Week participation will expand. And perhaps most anticipated of all, ANAYA will soon introduce a couture bridal capsule, a natural extension of its emotional storytelling.
Every upcoming chapter promises deeper narratives, richer craftsmanship, and a global audience that grows not because of hype, but because ANAYA resonates.
Emotion Woven Into Fabric
In a world overflowing with noise, ANAYA remains an intimate whisper, a reminder that true beauty is intentional, emotional, and timeless. Chathuri Samaraweera has built more than a fashion label; she has built a sanctuary where memory becomes design, where emotion becomes silhouette, and where every woman finds a space to feel seen.
ANAYA is not merely worn.
It is experienced.
And under Chathuri’s masterful direction, it continues to prove that when art, emotion, and identity meet, fashion becomes something far greater than clothing, it becomes a living, breathing story.
