Coming up roses

That would best describe H&M's spring designer collaboration.

Magda Butrym is a Polish fashion designer known for her ultra-feminine aesthetic and her love for roses. And that love is evident in her capsule collection for H&M. 

This dress actually says it all.

After poring through the look book, my reaction was: "Someone rose to the occasion."

Leyva level

Was beginning to wonder if Plains & Prints wouldn't have a designer collaboration this year, then this happened.

This year, they tapped another young designer to create a capsule collection for the brand. Michael Leyva is known for his modern, architectural shapes, and is a fave among stars and socialites.

His collection is centred on this modern, scarf-like print. It appears in a lot of the pieces, but he also has a lot of plain coloured items with thoughtful details that make it pop.

The piece that caught my eye was also this dress:

It uses the same scarf print, and the top is a simple shell-style, but with a lot of darts and details that make it different.

As always, Plains & Prints takes local fashion to another level.

You Rokh!

It's always great to see new and merging designers take the stage as H&M collaborators.

Just like this upcoming one for 2024.

They're teaming up with Rok Hwang, a Korean designer at the helm of his namesake brand - Rokh.

His aesthetic is very clean and minimalist, but has little fashion touches, like a micro pleat here or a detachable detail there. And that's what elevates his work.

This is the 2nd time H&M is teaming up with a Korean designer. First was Minju Kim - erstwhile winner of "Next in Fashion" - back in 2013. So, it's nice to see another Korean designer after a decade.

Can't wait to see what H&M brings to MNL from his collection.

Kim-possible

Nope, this isn't about that iconic animated series from the early 2000s. 

But make no mistake, I loved watching that series.

This is about another series that was the subject of my binge-watching this weekend - "Next in Fashion."

Simply put, "Next in Fashion" was Netfilx's foray into "Project Runway" territory. It was a fashion design reality show featuring 18 designers - both established and aspiring - vying to be the next big thing in fashion.

What's interesting about the cast of this series is that some of them are actually quite famous in their hometowns. Designers like Angel Chen who already has multiple stores in China and is considered a young fashion wunderkind at home. There's Daniel Fletcher who's also the Creative Director of Fiorucci. There's Marco Morante who has a big following in LA. And that's just a fraction of the cast.

So, to say that this was a competition of the best-of-the-best could be considered an understatement.

Among the 18 designers, there was one who really caught my eye from Episode 1. She's the very humble, very unassuming, yet supremely talented Minju Kim.

Minju Kim is from Seoul, and her design aesthetic was very true to her roots. She was unconventional, innovative, with an eye for prints, patterns and proportions. Even the way she dressed during the competition was very Seoul.

She wore a lot of loose clothes, jumpers, aprons, long sleeved shirts with pants, and a lot of layering. She also was very Asian in a sense that she didn't want a lot of attention, she was very self-effacing, and would be genuinely surprised when she won a challenge.

That's why it was such a joy to see her when she (Korean) won everything. (Sorry, I couldn't help it. Harhar.)

Yes, Minju Kim is the Next in Fashion!

Her winning moment was truly magical. And I've watched and re-watched that moment several times the past few days.

Now, I have to find her store the next time I go to Seoul.

Dress you up

No, this isn't a post about Madonna's iconic 80s song.

Though I like that song a lot. And my 2 sisters used to love dancing to that very infectious pop tune.

This is about a book that I've finally gotten around to start reading.

A book that chronicles the evolution of dresses, "The Dress: 100 ideas that changed fashion forever," is such a rich resource for anyone who's interested in fashion. 

It takes the world's biggest dress trends and tracks its historical context - some as far back as the Ancient Egyptian times. It clearly shows how fashion has evolved, but at the same time, is still rooted in the rich history of the generations and races that have come before us.

Another thing enjoyable about reading this book is that it features some of my favourite fashion designers and some of the breakthrough fashion moments. From Paul Poiret to Madame Gres to Paco Rabanne. From Issey Miyake's pleats to Dior's "New Look" to Azzedine Alaia's body con dresses.

Reading this is making me want to bring out my sketch pad and start doing my chicken scratches again. And hopefully soon, those sketches can be brought to Joy who will bring them to life as dresses.

Lusti-Cool

Back in the 2000s, there emerged a new breed of fashion designers in the Philippines. 

They were young, creative, bold and imaginative. They stormed fashion shows and fashion magazines with their cool, architectural and avant-garde designs.

Among these names were Joji Lloren, Avel Bacudio, Ivarluski Aseron, Dennis Lustico, Rajo Laurel among others.

I've always liked the work of these designers, and thanks to some of their collaborations, I was able to snag pieces from them. There's Joji Lloren for Rustan's, Avel Bacudio for Landmark, Rajo Laurel for Plains and Prints, among others.

Last year, I saw that Dennis Lustico - along with other designers - had a collaboration with Zalora. I'd often go back and check out these dresses on their site, and always planned to get them. 

A few months ago, I finally did!

This dress from Dennis Lustico is true to his aesthetic. Very sleek and architectural, with feminine details like point d'esprit lace.

From the color (or non-color), to the construction and design, this dress is so cool! And I'm so glad I was able to snag it!

Designing Trio

While the current global situation has almost silenced the fashion front, it's good to know that Target is keeping a sense of normalcy by continuing its designer collaboration line this summer.

And they don't have one, not two, but they have 3 designers who they're collaborating with for a collection of summer dresses.

There's Cushnie for something that's bright and bold, Love Shack Fancy for a more woodstock-y and bohemian feel, and Lisa Marie Fernandez for something that's more along the lines of summer romance.

Although this isn't the priority of people in the current situation, it helps to see these beautiful things as a reminder to see the beauty and joy in everything.

A fashionable end

Fashion lost another one of its brightest and longest shining stars.

Karl Lagerfeld - Creative Director of Chanel and Fendi - has just taken a bow and made his catwalk to the fashion house up there.

Until his passing, he was still very active - designing collections, season after season, not just for Chanel and Fendi, but for his namesake brand as well.

He was such a huge influence that the fashion world will definitely feel the void of his passing.

Up in the Attico

The great thing about reading In Style is learning about new and upcoming designers.

In the US, there's a designer born every minute - just check out Project Runway! And among the gamut and plethora of designers, a handful actually make it big in the business.

In Style has that knack of finding those promising ones, featuring them, and finally giving them the platform to be known by people who have the penchant for fashion forward clothes.

While leafing through one of the current issues, I saw a photo of a thoughtfully fashionable dress and was interested to see who designed it. After looking at the credits, it was a new label called Attico, and the designers are two beautiful and statuesque women, Giorgia and Gilda.

They say women designers are better at making clothes for women. And in the case of Attico, it's very true. Their aesthetic is very clean, modern and feminine - very women in the now.

And yes, it helps that these women designers look like model themselves. They're in the same rank as my other favorite designing pairs - The Olsen Sisters, and Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman of Marchesa.

Let's see if Attico is available in Japan or HKG. I'm so interested to see their clothes up close.

Designer Dud

Most people who are familiar with fashion are also familiar with Miu Miu.

The younger and hipper line of the Prada fashion lineage, it's a cult favorite among cool girls. Among the celebrities who swear by Miu Miu are Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Stam and Chloe Sevigny. Yes, they're that cool.

Of course, Miu Miu is also known by it's cool and modern logo, which I've always liked.

I remember the Miu Miu store near my flat when I was still living in HKG, and it was constant source of creative joy.

Now here's the funny thing. Apparently, Miu Miu has a sister in China that she doesn't know about.

Presenting, Min Min!

Yes, I found this bag at the Landmark, and it's an obvious knock-off of Miu Miu. But they wisely inverted the "u" to an "n" to avoid any copyright debacles.

Yeah, right. Harhar.

But I must say, I laughed quite hard upon seeing this bag. Nothing like a designer dud to add humour to my Sunday.

Fresh Prints

Since I'm a huge fan of prints, I'm always on the lookout for designers with a strong print aesthetic. So far, my list has Suno, Mary Katrantzou, and Etro.

While browsing through Vogue, I found a fresh, new name to add to the list.

Stella Jean!

Nope, she's not related to Billie Jean, and she's not anyone's lover.

Stella Jean is an Italian-Haitian designer. And looking at her work, the Haitian influence is very pronounced.

I'm keeping an eye on her.

Carolina's back

Whenever I look at a design, I pay attention to the back as much as I do the front. That's why among my design pet peeves are: prints that don't reach the back of the garment, gartered back portions, and clunky zippers.

Looking at Carolina Herrera's current collection, I can see a lot of artfully designed backs. And that makes me giddy.

This photo is inspiring me to sketch something with a dramatic back!

Thakoon's journey

Last Saturday, we were watching portions of "The September Issue" in my AVP class. At one point, they featured an interview with Thakoon, and I immediately wondered: "Where's Thakoon?"

He was one of the young designers to watch a few years ago, especially after he created looks for the FLOTUS. While he was on that streak, he designed a capsule collection for Target.

After that, I didn't hear as much about him as before. So, I decided to search on google and check what he's been up to. That's when I found out that he's the Kohl's designer for their Designation collaboration series.

Like his predecessors, he was asked to choose a city to be inspired by, and his choice was London. So, it's not a surprise to see a lot of plaids and florals in his new collection. And since it's a F/W collection, the colors are more muted and dark.

Historically, Kohl's collaborations don't get as much mileage or hype compared to Target or Macy's. So, let's see if this collaboration will be more successful than the ones that came before it.

Twin Peaks part deux

Wasn't I just talking about Mary Kate and Ashley a day ago?

Yesterday, they were named CFDA Designers of the Year for Women's wear. Their line, The Row, first received this award in 2012. So, this accolade is their second.

The twins are really at their peak!

Tahari was targetted

Because of the massive hype created by the Altuzarra for Target collaboration, people overlooked the fact that Kohl's was collaborating with a top designer at the same time. 

That included me. I only found out yesterday that Elie Tahari was this fall's Design Nation collaborator. 

He chose NYC as this design destination, and he came up with a very urban collection featuring sporty outfits that have New York motifs translated in prints and silhouettes.

This sweater and jogger pants combination is very now.

And this dress with a skyline print is subtle and chic.

Poring through the internet, there were very few mentions or articles written about this collaboration. Which I feel bad about since Elie Tahari is an awesome designer. It was just a bit of bad timing as he was in the firing line of Target.

Som-thing to talk about

Kohl's is really good at keeping their designer collaborations under the radar. Whether that's good or bad, though, is a question that has yet to be answered.

Last year, I wrote about almost missing the Catherine Malandrino for Kohl's collection. And as I was browsing the net this weekend, I found out that they're launching another designer collection by the first week of April.

This time, it's Peter Som!

His collection was inspired by St. Barth's, so there's a lot of resort influence in his creations. The lookbook was visually stunning, and among the lot, two pieces really stood out.

First is this maxi-dress with a map-meets-postage stamp print. The color is very easy on the eye, and the sheer detail is an on-trend touch.

Since you can never go wrong with a shirt dress, this piece is also a must-add to any wardrobe.

The silhouette is classic, but the tie-dyed-meets-batik print makes it look fresh.

Historically, the lines at Kohl's isn't as insane as that of Target's and H&M's, So I hope my friend won't find it hard when I ask her to get these 2 items for me.

Fashion Force

Rodarte's latest collection is enough to make geeks take up and embrace fashion.

It's a Star Wars long gown collection!

The force is really strong with the Mulleavy sisters.

Fashion Accent 2

I've always been a fan of Catherine Malandrino's design work. And after viewing this video, I've become a much bigger fan because of another thing:



Her accent!

Listening to her speak is such a joy to the ears. She really sounds so cool!

The Gang's all here!

It's been a long time since I've last been to Horizon Plaza - more than a year in fact. Today, I had to go back because of a travel piece I'm working on. So after lunch, Melvin and I hopped on the bus and made our way there.

And why do people go to Horizon Plaza? For name brand shopping, of course! This is the perfect place to buy your Stella, Alberta, Dolce & Gabbana, Reem, Barney, and Diane. After all, it's where Joyce and Lane Crawford send their off-season clothes. To dispose of them, they mark down the price down to about 80% off, and getting a Lanvin gown for 20% of the price is enough to get people trekking to this off-the-map area. (But still, 20% of a $50,000 gown is still $10,000!)

Strangely, I've never bought anything there in my previous visits. And the reason why is stated above in italics. Being a consummate bargain hunter, I know that there are better buys out there - and I find them most of the time. ($200 for a Marc Jacobs. Duh!)

Today proved to be different, though. The moment Melvin and I parted ways, this surge of shopping energy flowed through my body. Soon enough, I was swiftly scouring the racks for the names that my sisters like, and surprisingly, they had the perfect style, the perfect size, and most importantly, the perfect price! In less than an hour, I had the gang along with me at the cash register.

Yup, I went home with Catherine, Roland, Diane and Tracy.






Yup, I went home in good company today. And by the looks of it, I might find myself going back there really soon. Have to get together with Narciso, Nanette, Paul & Joe, Emilio, Vera, Olivier...

Liking Lim

This weekend, I had a bad case of "accompanying-Kawei-to-shop-but-ending-up-buying-more-than-him-syndrome." It was totally odd since my job simply was to show him the good shopping places in Hong Kong so he can indulge in a little bit of retail therapy. Then i'd end up carrying bigger bags than him on our way home.

Let's see... It happened at H&M, at Cheong Hing Bakery, and at Uniqlo. But it was the Uniqlo trip that was definitely, de-fi-nite-ly worth it.

Since they don't have Uniqlo in Singapore just yet, we went to the one at Miramar Complex. While he was trying on a pair of pants and a blazer, I decided to just veg in the graphic T section. More than 15 minutes passed and he still wasn't back so I went around the store to look for him. It turns out he was at the Designer's Invitation Project section looking for a gift for his colleague, and that's when I spotted this.


It turned out that they launched the 3.1 Phillip Lim capsule collection for Uniqlo that day! We went there sometime mid afternoon, and most of the dresses were already sold. There were less than 10 pieces on the rack, and it looked like they'd all be gone in the next 10 minutes. Following my fashion instincts, I grabbed two of the dresses for my two sisters: one in black, the other in white.

Phillip Lim is known for his choice of fabrics and detail in construction. There's always a little detail in his clothes that give it a fashionable twist while still keeping it wearable. His clothes look good on the sidewalk as it does on the catwalk. Plus, since Uniqlo is a mass brand, it was very affordable. An original 3.1 Phillip Lim in New York will cost thousands of dollars, and I got two of these for just little over a hundred. Just looking at this pleated detail on the bodice and feeling the soft linen of the dress, I'm convinced this purchase is a steal.


Excellent fabric, unique construction and a retail friendly price. What's not to like about Phillip Lim?