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.

North and South Korea

I went out for dinner with my friends and since I was craving for Korean dishes we decided it's gonna be a Korean night.

First stop is North Korea and like in the communist side, the servers at Pyongyang didn't allow us to take pictures of our food. Such a bummer since you know me I like to document what I eat. We had some squid, bibimbap, omelette, cold noodles and chicken for my friends. It was a bit expensive than you would normally pay for Korean food here in Siem Reap but the novelty sure makes up for it. One thing I noticed in Pyongyang were how really pretty their servers.

I did manage to take a photo of the kimchi but after I was asked to refrain from doing anymore.

Apres, we went to Ti Amo for desserts. And like the modern and westernized South, Ti Amo represented the international side of Korea. This coffee shop has the usual pastries plus truly Korean ones like Baby Chu, Mamoth and sorta like hopia bread. Everything is yummy! I decided to get Afogato because I've never tried it before. They serve it to you with vanilla ice cream plus red tea.

You pour the red tea on the ice cream and, voila! I love the ritual and presentation.

We had that hopia thingy and a slice of cheese cake, too.

I was with Linette, Faith and Loven.

It was raining that day so I wore my hooded vest from my fall/winter 2011 collection.

Fashion Diary: top - DP hooded vest with H&M black tee under, bottom - EDITED pants, shoes - DM's.

Kawaii

Just some cute stuff I got from the thrift shop:

A black rat I'm giving to my nephew, Gino.

Really cute button pins and key chains. The art on the key chains remind me of Galaga, an old Atari game.

A leather flower brooch.

Stitch in black&white!

I'm such a sucker for useless stuff.

Friends Visiting

A few moons ago Franco met up with his friends here in Siem Reap.

We didn't really spend so much time together because I wanted him to enjoy more of his time with his friends who are just visiting. But we did manage to bond and even met up with Nod and Ardin who came also to Siem Reap.

It was Ardin's first time in Cambodia and he was visiting Nod in Phnom Penh.

We went to the usual places after they toured Angkor Wat.

If there was more time I would have brought them to places outside the Pub Street area. Their trip was very short so we ended up just going around near.

I brought them to AHA for desserts.

AHA's honeycomb ice cream never fails to impress.

Stripes

I can't remember when I started loving unusual patterns and drapes in clothing. Back in college it was minimalism that really caught my fancy so it's probably when I started discovering my style in designing when I really appreciated the construction of a garment.

Nowadays, it's really normal to see complex patterns in clothing being sold in your regular clothing stores and malls. Back in the day when I was growing up you will be hard pressed to find anything that is unconventional or not preppy, unless you go to Hong Kong or Japan. There must have been a few stores in Manila selling edgy clothing designs but in Iloilo there was nothing at all. Thanks to thrift shops you can also find a lot of interesting looking clothing that goes beyond the normal cuts.

When reduced what I'm wearing here are basically a layered tank and shirt paired with pants. But this stripe top from Bo Parcon has unusual seaming with asymmetrical drapes on the sides. The front is also longer than the back. Underneath I wore a 2xist tank for contrast. My pants is plus minus multiply divide, a very unusual style that seems to marry a skirt and pants in one pattern. I tried looking for a website for this Hong Kong brand but I couldn't find any. This label has always been fun to wear because they make really interesting patterns using very comfortable fabrics like cotton jersey. My bag is Ann Demeulemeester that I got from the thrift shop and my shoes is DM's.