This week, we’re taking a peek behind the seams and uncovering the inspirational journey of the founder of Astroid, Oshara Kariyakarawana. From humble beginnings to bustling creativity, Kariyakarawana’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for fashion have led her to create a brand that empowers everyone to feel confident and strong in their own skin.

• Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

My name is Oshara Kariyakarawana. I am 25 years old. I schooled at Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 5, and graduated from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce after completing the special bachelor of commerce degree programme last year. I’m the eldest in a family of four and I have one younger sister who is currently an undergraduate at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. My father is a businessman and my mother is a housewife. 

• What inspired you to come up with Astroid? 

I love fashion and fitness. I love to dress up. So, I thought of putting fashion and fitness together to create activewear that is trendy, comfortable, and of premium quality that cannot be easily found in the Sri Lankan market. I wanted to create a brand that markets unique and fun activewear that makes one feel truly good about themselves and makes them look confident. My father, Thushara Kariyakarawana, came up with the name for the brand.

• What were some challenges you faced during the initial phase of launching Astroid? 

The most challenging part was to get the bulk orders sorted with the manufacturers as per the required deadlines. Due to certain constraints faced by the suppliers, it was nearly impossible to get the orders done in time for the launch. And on top of that, the photoshoot was also pretty hectic as we had no prior experience in this field. But all in all, everything came together smoothly and we had a lot of fun amidst the challenges. It definitely taught us a lot of things about the fashion industry. 

• What or who helped you pull through? Tell us about it.

During the entire process, I had the unwavering support of my dear family and my amazing boyfriend, Lahiru Rambukwella, who happens to be the Head of Marketing at Astroid. Since the day I told them about this idea, they were nothing but very supportive. From choosing designs, fabrics, models, etc. they were my go-to people for advice. I would not be here if not for them. I am truly grateful to all of them for giving me their honest and especially brutal feedback.

Be it fabric hunting, attending meetings, developing new designs, and especially when things went south, my father, mother, sister, and Lahiru were there to help me get back on track. 

Also, a special shoutout goes to my grandmother, all my close friends, and the models, photographer (Jason), and videographer (John) of the Astroid ‘Ace Collection’ for their unwavering support since day one. 

• Tell us a bit about what sort of products and styles Astroid activewear designs.

We design activewear and lifestyle merch for all genders. Our styles are unique, trendsetting, and designed in-house to cater to all body shapes in Sri Lanka and all around the world. They’re at an affordable price. We are looking to launch new designs every month to keep up with the fast-moving fashion industry. Astroid will not be limited to activewear only as we will be testing new waters in the near future. We can’t wait for our customers to see what’s in store for them in the future.

• How do you ensure Astroid’s products and operations do not contribute to any sort of pollution while working in the fast-fashion sportswear industry that is currently the second-largest polluter in the world?

The manufacturers we have chosen follow a zero-waste approach when manufacturing our garments, therefore the wastage of material during production is minimised as much as possible. We are happy to say that Astroid has also started using biodegradable packaging when packing individual garments. We digitise all our operations as much as possible to limit documentation as well. 

• You describe Astroid as, ‘An athleisure apparel that can play by day and slay by night.’ Tell us more about this statement.

Astroid activewear is super versatile and fun. Comfort is just the cherry on top. All our items can be worn to the gym, to the beach, or even for brunch. The items can be mixed and matched with other clothing items in your wardrobe. If we take the ace sports bra or the crop top as an example, we can pair it up with a good pair of jeans for a fun day out with friends. Therefore, the wearer can play by day and slay by night.

• Tell us a little about the materials you use. 

We handpick all the materials we use – which is the hardest part of the production process. We look into quality and comfort, and we also try to choose vibrant and eye-catching colours so our customers can stand out in a crowd. When it comes to our seamless products, we choose the compositions carefully as these products are mostly used for training purposes. Therefore, we try to make the fabric supportive and comfortable for all body shapes and sizes.  

• Astroid Activewear is currently an online business. Tell us a little about how different this is from a traditional retail business.

We launched our website on 28 February this year. This is super convenient for the customers as we have an easy checkout process that facilitates debit cards, credit cards, and many more payment options. We have also partnered up with KOKO and Mintpay in order to give our customers instalment plans when purchasing Astroid products. All the orders are placed through our website www.astroidsl.com and delivered island-wide during a short period of time (sometimes delivered the day after the order is placed if the location is in Colombo). We also offer worldwide shipping so one can order Astroid from anywhere in the world.

• What is one piece of advice you’d give people wanting to get into the fast-fashion industry? 

From the time I was young, my dream was to start my own business. As I grew up, with my love for fashion, I wanted to start my own clothing line. Don’t do it just for the money, do it with passion and work super hard, be goal-oriented and the rewards will follow. This goes out to all the women out there who are waiting to start their own venture; you may have to face many challenges and obstacles on the way, but always know that it’ll be worth it in the end. You are unstoppable. If you want to make something happen, don’t postpone it or wait for an auspicious time. Go for it. Always remember that it’s now or never. 

PHOTO © Sanjeewa Weerasinghe