Gres Matter

When I first noticed the billboard that advertised Randy Ortiz's capsule collection of Kashieca, I wasn't too keen about it. Probably because his collection for Plains and Prints was quite blah, and the fact that Kashieca isn't really a brand that I look at. Randy Ortiz is really good, and I bought some of his stuff at his Myth store, but his first collaboration with a local ready-to-wear brand didn't really live up to the hype.

After buying gelato in Greenbelt 5, I noticed that the Kashieca store in front was displaying the Randy Ortiz collection already. The 3 pieces on the window display immediately drew me into the store. Actually, "drew" doesn't quite capture it, "suctioned" may be more apt.

The clothes are just fabulous!

One major difference of his Kashieca line with his earlier Plains and Prints line is the material. In this new collection, he used cotton jersey and some silk jersey. It makes the clothes classic and easily wearable.

Then, there's the matter of construction. Each dress was draped beautifully, and it reminded me of Madame Gres - that 40s fashion icon who loved jersey fabric and was excellent in making draped masterpieces. Not surprisingly, after reading the tag on the dress, he was indeed inspired by Madame Gres.

The dresses were so nice, I bought 2 pieces straight out of the box. Literally. The time I purchased these Madame Gres inspired beauties, they just unloaded it out of their stock box.

First up was a calf length, plum colored dress.



It's constructed in a way that the drapes fall all around the body when worn. I asked one of the sales staff to put it on a mannequin and the result was magical.



Then there's the knotted detail on the shoulder. This is connected to a long drape that cascades down the left shoulder.



The next piece is a dress that's a bit Madame Gres and a bit of Lanvin. It caught my eye because it reminded me of the Tilda Swinton "hefty bag" dress. Albeit more form fitting.



Again, nice draping action going on all over the dress.



Another common theme present in this collection is this rolled fabric. It looks and feels like Pizza Hut's stuffed crust pizza! Harhar. But it adds a nice texture and flavor to the dress.



It's very rare that I buy something immediately after I see it. Oftentimes, I'd come back for it after a day or two. But this collection is so nice - and so true to its Madame Gres inspiration - that it became an exception. And something tells me this isn't the last time I'm going to Kashieca for these creations.