Grocery Kokur

This post was spawned because I got excited when Paul of Paul Highness blogged about wearing some vintage Paolo Raymundo pieces he was gifted by Michael Salientes, one of the Philippines' popular stylists. His posts reminded me so much when I would have trips to Manila and go shopping at Milkwear buying Paolo Raymundo or at Defect for Cecile Van Straten's stuff, and also meeting vanguard designers like Mich Dulce, Ignacio Loyola. Noni Diza and Tina Daniac. I would also buy Havoc and check out the pieces of DAACS, Warp and other labels associated with the rave culture. Funny, I was too young to go to such parties but I totally love the whole movement and the way they wear their fashions. Of course, I developed a different taste, eventually, and my style veered away from all of those stuff but I somehow saved a lot of pieces from that time, which was stored in our ancestral house. The jacket above is a gift from Cecile from her line called Grocery Kokur. Some sort of polyester fabric was used and it was spray painted silver to give it an antique look. I do have a feeling this jacket was part of her first fashion show collection for her store Grocery. I just wanted to share this because I've always believed that it's important to appreciate the works of designers who made a mark in our fashion history. I wish I could find more pieces by Cecile and other Filipino designers from the 90's because it's a period that's very relevant to me. I'm so happy Mr. Salientes bequeath a lot of his clothes to Paul who in turn gives it a sense of importance by wearing and sharing it on his blog for everyone to see.

The News Today Interview

Thank you The News Today and Kathy Villalon for the feature! ;)

DP at Robinsons Iloilo

In Iloilo my clothes can be found at the 3rd floor of Robinsons Place Iloilo at Atelier Parcon sold along with EDITED by Jaki Penalosa + Don Protasio and other young Ilonggo designers.

JS x Longchamp ss 2011

Another one from the successful collab of Longchamp and Jeremy Scott, and this time with pills printed on the canvas body and black leather handles. I really like it and it would be a great addition to my collection.

Lovelies

Some, and I still have a lot, of the things I love:

Maison Martin Margiela s/s 2011 tote bag. Props to my friend Daniel O. for finding one for me in Hong Kong at Lane Crawford after checking in the Margiela stores and it's sold out! Yay!

Doc Martens patent leather 8-hole boots. I wasn't planning on buying this although it was in my head because I got jealous when I saw it on my friends Bo P. and Louis C. While in Bangkok I went with my friend Julius L. to check it out in Paragon and it was 30% off sale! I couldn't resist and it's really a good buy since I've been using it often.

Neil Barett tee. My friend Daniel gave this to me and I just love it. The cut, fabric and color is love!

'Savage Beauty' Alexander McQueen book. Words left me and I was just emotional when I was turning the pages and seeing his wonderful works. I asked my friend Eliz to buy it for me and it was Leigh who sweetly carried it back, and it's heavy, to Siem Reap. If you have the chance you have to own this book.

Maison Martin Margiela bleached to white classic denim jeans. I really love the way they bleached it to the point where you can still see the blue in the inside seams and it's totally white outside. My friend Louis C. gave it to me and I was so ecstatic to receive this vintage piece.

Kipling x Peter Pilotto pouch bag in Galaxy print. My friend Bo gave it to me. I was the one who told him about this collab but somehow I didn't get the chance to buy it when it came out. He on the other hand got 2 pieces and so I 'stole' this one from him, hahaha!

DP at FLY LOUNGE

My Version of Basketball Shorts

A little bit twisted

Guimaras

I went to Guimaras with my friends Bo and Tina. It was super fun and I really enjoyed the island hopping. My fave was when we had lunch in one of the secluded beaches. I also love when we went inside the cave. It's truly a must to visit Guimaras if you like nature, the beach, seafoods and mangoes (the sweetest in the world!). I promise to come back again!

Three New Pieces

What do you think?

Me in Manila

I was in Manila for only a few days and I didn't stay long. After presenting my fall/winter 2011 collection for Philippine Fashion Week, I flew to Iloilo immediately. In Manila, though it was a short stay, it was relatively stress free and not so frenetic as my previous experience. I met up with my friend Mike and we had a whole day of bonding. He is known as Toxicdiscoboy in the blogging world and 1/2 of the clothing label, Paradigm Shift. We decided to eat at Cibo, one of my fave Italian restaurant.


I had a simple pasta and some chips with Diet Coke. It brought a lot of memories being there in Cibo because I used to frequent it when I'm in Manila.


We hopped to Powerplant Mall and checked out the second Muji store in Manila. One of my friend would love the selections being sold. I think it's much better than Bangkok although I was disappointed with the shoe section.


Then we headed to Univers, a new Homme et Femme store, because they stock Rick Owens. I'm happy you can buy Rick in Manila now. They also have a section for Black Comme des Garcons and exclusive pieces from Eairth. Martin Margiela, Jil Sander, Zero Maria Cornejo, are also sold.


Aside from clothing you can now get some really stylish mags like Arena Homme +, Brutus, Hercules, ACNE Paper, etc., so no need to lug them from abroad. There's also a selection of perfumes, home stuff and little items for gifts.


My Manila trip wouldn't be complete without visiting Eairth, one of my favorite labels. I bought a pants, wrap and an overall jumper this time. I always enjoy my visit there because there's so much love for their craft that you can see. It's something that sets them apart from other hyped label.

I also visited a friend who gave me a stash of really cool pieces from Martin Margiela, Comme des Garcons, Christopher Nemeth and other designer labels for my clothing archive.


My last day in Manila was show day. Mike assisted me backstage and I was truly thankful for it because I was paranoid that the OS jewelry I borrowed might get lost. One funny but nerve wrecking backstage incident was when Mike couldn't find one pair of my tabi footwear. He incidentally dropped it when he was moving it to the men's section. We found it on time but we both were afraid it got stolen.

The Alchemists for 2011

I'm so excited for this! There's just a few labels I truly buy in the strictest sense. I do like shopping and all but I end up buying the same brands every season anyway. One of those labels is The Alchemists, which I have blogged so many times. For this season I feel a more softer mood in terms of color and less of the usual signature asymmetry.

The shirt/jacket reminds me of the first piece I got from the label. The soft gray is love!




The bib/deconstructed shirt is something interesting and new for the label.



My fave though and something I would buy first from this collection is the waistcoat/apron hybrid. Will they have it when I'm in Bangkok? So excited!



The tailoring of the jacket is impeccable. Amazing quality and the fabrics being used are really well thought of.


The white waistcoat wrap looks similar to something I designed before but I know it has surprising details you can't see in the picture.


And that is what truly makes me fall in love with a certain label or a designer, the details. The Alchemists, for seasons now, has been committed in evolving a certain concept and narrative using tailoring and menswear details in a fresh light. Notice the soft pinkish beige top with belt loop on the collar. That detail connects that piece to his continuing obsession of reinventing classic male suiting to adapt to a more forward sensibility.


Here's another waistcoat that I must check. It seems to have a brace detail.


Here's another version with a white strap hanging from the inside.


And finally, a layered waistcoat over an asymmetrical sweater. A darker gray comes into play paired with a slightly cropped slim pants.

Now it's time to save up for these pieces.

Hoodie

I don't know how did my penchant for hoodie or hooded clothing started. If I remember it correctly almost all of my collections feature at least one hooded item. I honestly don't get tired of reinventing it and discovering new ways of making it relevant to my design narrative.

Here's one of our new hoodies for fall/winter 2011.