This Eternal Fascination

Yohji Yamamoto s/s 2014

Ample volume, as seen in Yohji Yamamoto s/s 2014 menswear collection, is ease. It's a proposition for a way of dressing that suggest casual but not sloppy. I've always been fascinated by casual clothes but injected with a sense of nostalgia, romance and a healthy dose of disregard for tradition. I see that in ethnic costumes stripped and pared down to its core essence. Rendered in black or white, it loses it's flamboyance but only retains a vestige of its progeny. Even Western classics like coats, denim and tailored jacket reduced to minimal black seems devoid of its traditional formality. Mixed together it creates a look that is global. I can be anywhere wearing it.

Fashion Celebrity Night Out At Naga World

I got invited by Naga World to present 5 looks for their Fashion Celebrity Night event last August 6. I was in the middle of my preparation for my spring/summer 2014 menswear collection for Iloilo Designers Week but we had a little bit of time to prepare something different.

My Own Version Of Biker Chic

 

top: Ann Demeulemeester, leather vest: Prada, pants: Rick Owens, shoes: DM's

 

 

Honestly, the weather here in Cambodia is too hot for leather but I can't help wear this cute (ok! ok! very small!) Prada leather vest I got from the thriftshop. The trick is to stay indoors so you remain cool wearing the look. Suffer for fashion as they say.

To Store Things With

Been under the radar with my posts here but in exchange I've been steadily establishing my move here in Phnom Penh. Yes, Phnom Penh Designers Week 2013 last June was crazy but it felt good to finally do it. A week after I also presented an edited collection for Naga World of 14 looks comprising of pieces inspired by patterns we've developed before. I was also swamped with shoots and other editorial duties for F Magazine. I got to squeeze in a lookbook shoot for my fall/winter 2013 collection and my spring/summer 2014 menswear collection. The menswear collection will be shown in Iloilo by end of August. Somehow I also joined an exhibit in Sofitel So in Bangkok on the first day of this month with 2 pieces inspired by the fall/winter collection. And I even wrangled out a video to be shown with it. Strangely, everything felt organic and natural. The flow was quite smooth from one project to the other. No major hitches to worry about. And so today I felt like sharing another project I've been working on recently, it's a bag line. I plan to launch it for the opening of the showroom I'm sharing with my friends. I used the first sample today and showed it to a few friends. The response has been good but we still need to tweak a few kinks here and there. I'm quite excited about this!

At Toto Near The Royal Palace

 

 

 

Checked out the second outlet of Toto Ice Cream near the Royal Palace with Eng and Toefi. The space was occupied by So restaurant before and when it closed it got vacant for a very long time. Years! I love the building so I'm happy Toto got it. It's an Alice In Wonderland cuteness inside.



 

Mesh-merizing

I picked this mesh top in one of my thrifting forays not really thinking so much how I'll end up wearing it. It turned to be a good layering piece and it lends a little bit of an unusual edge to my boring Calvin Klien buttondown shirt.

top - Calvin Klein button down shirt + thrifted mesh top, bottom - DP pants, shoes - Converse, accessories - Kinggor pixelated frames

Cocktails For Christine

We celebrated Christine's birthday with a little cocktail party at The Exchange. We went thrifting before that so it was a nice little treat to relax and celebrate, her birthday and the cool stuff we found!

Creatives

Had a fun lunch at Sesame Noodles with some of Phnom Penh's creative minds: (from left) Claude Garrigues of [cgbcn], Catherine Theron of Kashaya, Julie Schrag of La'or, and Christine Gauthier of Waterlily. We shared chocolate bombs except Claude who had an order for himself.

Black & Blue

I've never been a blue kind of guy. It's a color I associate with uniforms and boring preppy stuff. I've only liked its classic associations when I began collecting Yohji Yamamoto. It's a color he often used besides black. The tee I'm wearing is from Maison Martin Margiela, the AIDS tee, and I've been collecting it. Whenever I can I buy one or ask friends to get it for me. It's a little bit hard sometimes because there's no stockist of Margiela here in Cambodia. And shipment can be more expensive than the actual tee itself so I missed some seasons. I'm lucky to get some older versions in the thriftshop especially the 10th anniversary version and the black tee with black print issue. Hopefully I can find the older versions especially the first issued tee.

top - Margiela AIDS tee + thrifted vest, bottom - DP pants, shoes - Kenzo, accessories - ESQ shades

Chains Draped Layers

One of my favorite piece to wear is this Y's Yohji Yamamoto oversized tank top. I got it in a thriftshop in Siem Reap. My necklace, a crochet chain from A.N.D., is my new favorite. The label partners with Wathan Artisans Cambodia, a worker-run cooperative of Cambodian artisans with disabilities.

 

top - Y's Yohji Yamamoto tank + Calvin Klein tee, bottom - DP dropcrotch pants, shoes - Converse, accessories - A.N.D. crochet chain necklace + Kinggor pixelated frames

Ethnic Minimalist Margielic

I got this traditional cotton wrap top from my friend Danny. Like me, he favors neutral and monotone colors like black, white and gray. I think he got this top from one of his travels. I'm not really sure where because it can be from China, Thailand or even here in Cambodia. I see similar tops being sold here but more in bright colors or printed fabrics. It's really very comfy and I wouldn't mind getting more in black or gray. It's a piece that works in the weather here. Danny also gave me this Margiela boots from the H&M collaboration and I thought it's perfect to tone down the 'ethnic' vibe of the top. Overall, I still want to look urban.

top - cotton wrap shirt, bottom - DP dropcrotch, shoes - Maison Martin Margiela x H&M, accessories - Kinggor pixelated frames

Punk Ninja

I commissioned Waterlily to make me a nose ring for a shoot I did. We came up with an Indian-inspired version. So it was perfect to use after when I attended the fashion show of Cambodia-based label, Punk Couture by [cgbcn]. The collection that was presented had the Japanese samurai as their take-off point mixed with punk and deconstructionist sensibility. I wanted to convey the same spirit of style but mixed with my own flair. Everyone kept asking me where I got it and one of my friend, a textile designer, even commissioned one for herself because she liked it so much. Needless to say, I got a lot of attention that night and I'll be lying if I say I didn't enjoy it.

top - Another Place tee + DP top, bottom - DP pants + Uniqlo skirt, shoes - tabi, accessories - Kinggor pixelated frames + Waterlily nose ring + spike cuffs