Pieces

After two seasons of experimenting with loud colors I'm back to my preferred darker palette for fall/winter 2011 fashion season.

DP fw 2011 on StyleBible

Thank you to StyleBible for documenting all the shows for Philippine Fashion Week.


Jae Pickrell of StyleBible writes:

For the past two seasons, we've known him for his use of bright colors and experimentation with sportswear material for a distinctly urban aesthetic; but this season, Don Protasio takes a decidedly muted turn towards nomadic motifs. Using lightweight cotton and overdyed linen fashioned in voluminous, albeit featherlight tent-like silhouettes, Don presented a ten-look collection that represents his own brand of minimalism: "I wanted the pieces to evoke a sense of ease, almost anti-design design."

The accessories deserve a special mention. Don collaborated with new Filipino label Os, which designed the polyurethane "bones" that anchor the oversized, triangular contours of the nomadic garments. Noteworthy also are the split-toed shoes inspired by Japanese jika-tabi boots, which round up Don's roving collection.

Here's what's on my mind when I did the collection:

Inspiration - I started with the idea of release and thought of doing tent inspired shapes. Images of nomadic tribes living in the desert directed the color and subtle details. I didn't really want it to be so ethnic looking so I reduced the cuts to the most basic up to what I'm comfortable with. I wanted the pieces to evoke a sense of ease, almost anti-design design. Like what Diana Vreeland famously said, 'Elegance is refusal'. I guess, my own kind of minimalism. It was a reaction from my last two collections where I experimented with color and sports wear details.

Materials - Very lightweight cotton in greige and linen with over-dyed layer to get the textured wrinkled effect. I decided to use these fabrics because it's travel friendly. The whole collection I showed in PFW fitted in a large Longchamp Le Pliage bag. That included hangers and three pair of shoes for the guys. It has been my obsession to come up with pieces that borrow elements from a 'resort' point of view without my clients looking like tourists. I for one don't do 'resort-y' dressing when I travel for vacation. I still stick to my urban sensibility even if I'm in Bali or somewhere else.

Accesories & Shoes - For the accessories I collaborated with OS, a new Filipino accessories label, who did the polyurethane 'bones' pieces. Amazing quality! I was thinking desert, dead skin, dead animals and voila! bones. Good thing their first collection was all about it, derived from their label name, Os being Latin for bones. It all fitted together for my concept. The shoes was inspired by Japanese Tabi boots and I remember seeing in a documentary Shinto priests using it for purification and burial rituals. I thought it's a nice little jarring detail because some of my pieces evoke a very Japanese feel even though I wasn't really deriving my main inspiration from there.

Mori Boy

Mori Boy (Forest Boy)

The team of Edrick Bruel, Mike Magallanes, Eugene Sugian, Thysz Estrada and model Maverick Lacson came up with this wonderful, wonderful, wonderful fashion editorial using pieces from my fall/winter 2011 collection mixed with Paradigm Shift. It's so funny because I texted Mike that my collection sorta reminds me of Mori Boy style, and this was before he told me they did this shot. He texted back, 'Surprise! Abangan'. So I was gladly shocked to see what they produced.

They seriously need to do more!

El Bosquejo Interview

Miguel Paolo Celestial of El Bosquejo interviewed me. Read here.

New Designs for Poetry

New pieces of Don Protasio at Poetry.

Fresh Deliveries

Just today 2 new DP t-shirt dresses hit the selling floor at Poetry, my store in Siem Reap.


Both pieces have asymmetrical hemlines, a little twist to a classic tee dress. We used a very soft cotton knit fabric in a weight that's light and perfect for travel. It's all up to the wearer how dress down or up the final look of the pieces. Either cinching with a belt or sprucing it up with statement jewelry, or layering it with a longer tee underneath, the possibilities are endless. It's a lazy little black dress, actually ;)

Major Wardrobe Liposuction

I'm a major clothes hoarder just in case you don't know. I have an archive of clothes from designers I love, not to mention the actual clothes I wear. So it's really a MAJOR event akin to a natural phenomena or a discovery of a new species of lizard or, ok!, a Justin Beiber concert, for moi and, hold your horses because another major hoarder coming your way, TOXICDISCOBOY, decided to release a LOT of our BELOVED clothing pieces. Not even half of what we decided to chuck from our closet:



(from left to right) Marni, Hussein Chalayan, Prada, Bernhard Wilhelm, Y-3, Tsumori Chisato.


Paul Smith, Gianni Versace when he was still alive, Equator Japan, Dolce&Gabbana, Issey Miyake, Zucca (I'm actually regretting giving this up but...)


Issey Miyake, another Zucca, Tsumori Chisato, Initial, Issey Miyake, Vivienne Westwood.


sequinned jacket, Zucca, EDC, Comme des Garcons, Kenki, The POP


Tsumori Chisato, Cheap Monday, Plus Minus Multiply Divide, Marni, Hugo Boss, tattered jeans to perfection.


The POP, a patterned piece, Dior Homme (like hello Hedi Slimane!) and Marni.

Sad to say I can't be there on May 27, that's a Friday, at the Malayan Hotel in Ortigas as part of the United Bloggers Sale. But Toxic will be there. I'm also selling some of my sample pieces from past seasons so you better check it out.


All must GO so everything at rock bottom, no fats, super mega waif prices!

Business As Usual

Please check out our SALE!

Detour

Fashion editorial in Manila Bulletin styled by Ryuji Shiomitsu and shot by Rxandy Capinpin. WIN! My neon pieces got included.

In Tent