2011

There are so many things to be thankful for in 2011 but it's the new friends I've made that truly makes it meaningful.

When A Simple T-shirt Is All That Matters

Not all t-shirts are the same. But when you find one that works for you and makes you feel good wearing it, buy tons and use it everyday.

Some of my favorite t-shirts:

A thrifted 'concert tee' with holes, rips and lovely discolorations. It does make me feel like, what else, a rocker when I wear it. Worn with Gap jeans, DM's and Via Demizon bag.

Ouki tees from Bangkok is one of my staple basics. It's simple and cheap, around 100baht each, and they make it in several styles and colors. I also buy a lot of tees from Another Place and Seven Heaven when I'm there. I paired my Ouki tee with DP pants and Converse shoes.

Another one of my fave is this oversized 5CM pinstripe tee. I like my stuff oversized, actually. I wore it with DP pants, DM's, Y'saacs beltbag and cuffs from Mango & Robotang.

Other favorites:

1. Maison Martin Margiela AIDS tee - I buy whenever I can and I have roughly 20 pieces from different seasons.

2. H&M Divided basic V-neck tee - I often end up buying the boxers and basic black tee from H&M.

3. Oxygen tees - If you want something not so basic but very affordable.

4. Rick Owens tee - Sadly, I can't afford it but lucky to have generous friends.

5. DP tees - Of course, I love what I designed, right?

Make The Old New

I've always liked using materials from used clothing because it has that unique quality that only time and wear can truly create. It can be replicated in an industrial process, yes, but where is the romance in that? Isn't it more chic and cool when it's really made from discarded materials?

For my line called PAID, I create pieces made of such discarded materials, usually from vintage clothing I buy cheaply in the local market. This drapey vest I have on is one. It's made of two tank tops fused together and reconfigured into this weird pattern. A friend saw it and bought it off my back. It can be worn several ways so I'm sure he had fun playing with it.

Top - PAID vest + DP top, Bottom - Fadthree jeans, Shoes - DM's, Bag - DP

Kindred Spirit

Helmut Lang x Jenny Holzer

via dapperkid

GARAGE

IF YOU ARE IN THE PHILIPPINES, KINDLY GET A COPY OF GARAGE MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE. THE TEAM OF PHOTOGRAPHER ONIN LORENTE, STYLIST FRANCO DIONCO, MODEL LIAM TARPEY AND ASSISTED BY NOD DEL ROSARIO PRODUCED THIS FASHION EDITORIAL SHOT IN PHNOM PENH. DUBBED AS 'KINGDOM OF WONDER', THE CITY IS THE BACKDROP OF FASHION FRESH OFF CAMBODIA FASHION WEEK 2011. SOME OF OUR PIECES WERE INCLUDED IN THE STORY.

IN BOTH PAGES, LIAM IS WEARING OUR HALF-JACKET, TANK TOP, PANTS AND LACED SANDALS, IN VARIOUS SHADES OF BLACK. THIS WAS SHOT IN FRONT OF THE RIVER NEAR THE ROYAL PALACE.

ON THE LEFT PAGE, LIAM IS WEARING A BLACK BUTTONDOWN SHIRT. THE WILLOW HOTEL WAS THE LOCATION FOR THIS SHOT. ON THE RIGHT PAGE, HE IS WEARING A WHITE PINSTRIPE BUTTONDOWN, A BLACK HALF VEST, FISHERMAN SHORTS AND OUR CLASSIC DP GLADIATOR SANDALS. THIS WAS SHOT IN FRONT OF THE ROYAL PALACE.

ALL THE FEATURED PIECES ARE FROM OUR SPRING/SUMMER 2012 COLLECTION.

MARIO MAURER, A POPULAR THAI ACTOR, IS ON THE COVER. THANK YOU GARAGE FOR INCLUDING US IN THE FASHION EDITORIAL.

Tonle Chatumok

There's a lot of eat-all-you-want buffet here in Siem Reap but not all are really good. One of my fave, though, is Tonle Chatumok. They serve mainly Vietnamese dishes mixed with classic Khmer dishes like amok and boklahom or pounded papaya salad with fermented fish sauce. I love their sugar coated fried rice balls with sweet white beans center. I can eat a bunch of those. Their pho is quite flavorful and I like that you have different choices of noodles, I really don't like thick noodles so usually I get the bihon type. I always look forward to eating their banh xeo, the crispy fried Vietnamese pancake stuffed with vegetables and your choice of meat.It's good when it's freshly off the frying pan and you drizzle it with sweet vinegar and crushed peanuts on top. Unlike most buffets, Tonle Chatumok has free drinks like cola, fresh sugarcane juice, iced tea, etc. Their dessert selection has fresh cut fruits, lots of Vietnamese desserts, ice cream, and shaved ice fares. It can be a bit chaotic like most buffets of its kind so it can be daunting at times to select the food you like when there are hoards of other people with you. It's not going to be an intimate, quiet dinner. But if you like variety and the option to try new dishes (steamed escargot, perhaps?) with leverage, then it's really fun. I like going every now and then when I don't feel fat. That way I can stuff myself silly and not be guilty, LOL!

Leave Horses Unbridled Or Their Spirits Die

My way of dressing is always about instinctual of-the-moment affairs. I seldom plan what I wear because I would still change my mind according to my mood that moment of dressing. Usually, the weather dictates the choices I make and also the stuff lying around that I can grab instantly.

Here I'm wearing my DP vest with my fave 'langaw' (flies) pins. I love insect accessories and I was spurred in collecting when I read that Stella Tennant liked collecting creepy crawling-inspired accessories, too. I like her personal style and I'm always inspired when I see photos of her.

My pants is Eairth, one of my favest label! I like honest, unassuming and individual labels and the way Mellisa Dizon Ramsey is steering Eairth is simply quite inspiring. I actually regret not buying more pants when I was there last time at their workshop.

My tee is from Rotsaniyom, a Thai label that churns out bohemian-esque pieces and prints in soft, washed-out, vintage-y colors. I got this shirt with cropped print of a horse. See the eyes peeking out, looking straight at you? It reminded me of Ann Demeulemeester how she used one of Steven Klein's horse photograph as a print on her fabric. Maybe, that's the reason why I used an Ann Demeulemeester fabric bag, too.

I'm wearing patent leather DM's.

The Smell Of Things To Come

I am not really a perfume person. There are days when I don't wear one because I think a scent can be very powerful in conveying certain signals of what you are as a person. By not wearing a scent then it limits the chance of you being read. That is why I'm very selective of the scent I wear. I tend to favor a unisex kind of smell. Atlantis by Bench was a cologne that somehow mimicked the androgynous scent of cKOne. It was the cologne that defined my highschool years. In college, when I had a little bit of money I was into ck One and ck Be. Minimalism entered my conciousness and I was enamored with the whole reductionist lifestyle. This was the phase where I was wearing almost all-black everyday. The green tea infused scent of ck matched the whole minimalist phenomenon of the mid 90's. By early 2000, I switched to Gucci Rush, the one for women, because I liked the fruity, spicy notes. I would only wear it during night time because it was too strong for daytime use. This was when I was working already. Rush smells like you want to have fun and I guess it matched my lifestyle of partying almost everyday.

I had other scents like Acqua di Parma, L'Eau D'Issey Miyake, Benetton Tribu, Gap Grass, Perry Ellis 360*, and others, but I'd often give it away after several use or use as perfume for the toilet.

Today the scent I use are Helmut Lang's Eau de Cologne and Cuiron Pour Homme. The former has a very masculine, old-world smell. When I use it I feel very grown-up and I like wearing it for special occasion because it has been discontinued. The latter has a bursting, after-shave smell that reminds me of modernist buildings and metals. I don't know why Cuiron is like that to me. I've been using both scent for a good 6 years already.

I also use Higher Dior Energy, a sporty, energizing scent. It's my day scent because I like how it reacts to my sweat. It's a very easy scent to wear and I like that it smells less powdery than the original Higher Dior.

When I want to be avant-garde then I wear Comme des Garcons Odeur 53. It's a very heavily layered scent that changes with time. The first burst smells of rubber, alcohol and nail polish. Then it gradually becomes floral and woodsy. The effect is quite fascinating for me because it'll be a week and I can still smell it on my skin. Powdery butter is the finale notes I can discern.

Recently, I had a sample of Maison Martin Margiela's (untitled), a leafy, woody scent that reminds me of vintage leather seats and intimate dinners.

I think I found my next scent.

Farewell And See You Soon

Our friend Linette relocated to Istanbul and before she left we had a farewell dinner with her at Pho de Paris.

Linette, in blue, with Olive and Granny.

The Ramos family.

Me and Inal.

ELOQUENCE MAGAZINE FASHION EDITORIAL

KOREA BASED, INTERNATIONAL CREATORS MAGAZINE, ELOQUENCE, FEATURED CAMBODIA BASED LABELS IN A FASHION EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHED AND DIRECTED BY VINCENT SUNG, STYLED BY DESMOND LIM ZHENGS, HAIR BY RYAN TAYLOR AND MAKE-UP BY OAK CHAN. ONE OF CAMBODIA'S IN-DEMAND MODELS, KOUY CHANDANICH MODELS THE CLOTHES FRESH OFF THE RUNWAY FROM SPRING/SUMMER 2012 COLLECTIONS.

ON THE LEFT, A DON PROTASIO HALF JACKET AND TAB ENCRUSTED NECKLACE IS FEATURED.

ON THE LEFT, A BIB-STYLE BUTTON DOWN SHIRT AND THE GOLD DOT X DON PROTASIO X KARL LEUTERIO 'CEREBRUS' SHOE ARE FEATURED.

ON THE RIGHT, THE MODEL IS WEARING A TARNISHED SILVER DRESS.

WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO BE PART OF THIS FASHION EDITORIAL.

PHNOM PENH POST FEATURE

THANK YOU PHNOM PENH POST FOR FEATURING DON PROTASIO: EXPERIMENTS. THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CAME TO FLY LOUNGE ESPECIALLY THE SHOPPERS WHO SNAPPED OUR SPECIAL PIECES.

EXPERIMENTS

A FASHION SHOW OF DP PIECES UNDER 'EXPERIMENTS', A SERIES OF CLOTHING DESIGNS NOT INCLUDED IN THE MAIN COLLECTION BUT MADE TO TEST NEW SHAPES AND FABRICS. MOSTLY ONE-OF-A-KIND. WE WILL ALSO BE SELLING PIECES FROM THE SPRING/SUMMER 2012 COLLECTION, ACCESSORIES FROM OS, BOSQUEJO BY PAOLO MIGUEL CELESTIAL AND GOLD DOT x DP x KARL LEUTERIO SHOE COLLABORATION. IT WILL BE LOTS OF FUN! EVERYONE IS INVITED TO COME.

Work In Progress

On OCTOBER 29, Don Protasio will present their collection for spring summer 2012 as part of Cambodia Fashion Week.

DON PROTASIO S/S 2012 COLLECTION FASHION SHOW

'DISSECTION'

ROMEET GALLERY

NO. 34, STREET 178

PHNOM PENH

Please check out the DON PROTASIO BLOG for more updates.

I Pick things Because It Reminds Me Of Something

Things can trigger a memory. You can associate someone to a particular thing.

My mother used to have bags like this. Gucci was popular in the 70's, I guess, and I have a mental picture of chic girls in bell-bottom denims, tight button downs and big shades carrying this sort of style. Those were what I saw in old magazines in our house. Of course, I grew up loving minimalism and didn't really appreciate the logo-laden aesthetic of those bags. Actually, even now I can say it's not me. But I love looking for such pieces to sell. It would have been nice if I saved the ones my mom used.

I wasn't familiar with Celine until Michael Kors designed for it. It's amazing what Phoebe Philo is doing there now. Lately, there has been quite a demand for vintage Celine so I'm always on a look-out for cool styles. I got an envelope style recently and I've used it to some events where I needed something to hold my wallet, phone and keys. It's the right size for those things.

Lately, I've been collecting military and utilitarian stuff. This buckle is a vintage military issue with zig-zag teeth that can snap to the belt. Very Helmut Lang.

Helmut Lang had a memorable collection where he used military uniforms as inspiration. I don't know why I liked it so much. I still remember the fatigue wool jackets with bold red stripes and the layered knit pieces in olive. It's one of those images that I always remember when I design. The military jacket above could be one of Helmut's.

My friend Daniel works at the Gap. Great selection of covers, too.

At first, I thought this Toga Archives sweater was torn. Then I realized it was really intentional. It reminded me so much about the reason why I love progressive Japanese labels. Small details like those often kill me.

How can you not love a bag with these words on it's tag: 'Finding For Freshness. LESUE. Come On. Feel Rich. Produced by Ace'?

It's black, big and light. Most of my bags fall into that category so another one to add wouldn't hurt.

The Simple Days Are The Best Days To Enjoy

I only like complicated things when it comes to the patterns of my clothes. But I don't want a complicated life. I'm thankful life here in Siem Reap is devoid of unnecessary stresses like traffic, pollution and noise. That's the price I pay for losing a bit of urbanity and embracing a more rural life. One luxury I really enjoy is spending a lot of time savoring a simple meal. When you get awfully busy you lose that because there's so many things in your head. I think it takes a different frame of mind to appreciate the simple things in life. To me it has become more important. I'm happy to have that choice.

Biker Tee

I went to Angkor Wat with friends to help them film a video. It was hot so I decided to wear my reworked biker tee. It was so oversized that I had to make it my own. Besides, it's much more Margielic that way.

There are folded details on the sleeves and I let the hems raw. I also tapered the sides to look loose but not super oversized. I think the original size was an XL.

I paired it with Gap jeans and PAID draped apron. The apron was a reworked piece, as well. I think it sorta makes the whole look a bit elevated from the usual basics. My tote is Comme Ca Ism and my sneakers from Converse.