ON its ninth season, the Panasonic Manila Fashion Festival (PMFF) has firmly entrenched itself as an industry fixture. Powered by Art Personas CEO Ronnie Cruz, his model-wife Sara Kae and director Jackie Aquino, the biannual showcase theme was “Shaping a Fashion Movement,” which was held over four days at The Marquee Tent at the Edsa Shangri-La.
At PMFF, emerging designers have found an avenue for their exuberant creativity while the established ones use it as an exciting platform to reach a broader audience. This season, the standout collections paid homage to Halston (Jun Escario), his own greatest hits (Protacio Empaces), Takahiro Hirayabashi (KC Pusing) and Katharine Hepburn (Wilbur Lang); found nostalgic glamour in our heritage (Edgar Buyan), the 1950s (Chris Diaz) and the babaylans (Patrick Lazol); and derived ideas from cults (Reynier Abello), tribes (Dodjie Batu) and the dark (Kelvin Morales).
- PROTACIO EMPACES: Honestly I don’t start a collection with a title. But, yes, motivation pushes me to create. This time I gathered all my “strengths” and made all these elements evolve into prettier versions of their past. I usually work on the classic silhouettes and apply it with a much more comfortable way of expressing design and function. I’m not so good with the application of social media nowadays, that’s why I joined PMFF because I know they can help me a lot with that.
- EDGAR BUYAN: “MindaNow: Filipino Series” is a nostalgic journey to the past. It’s mostly separates made of piña. The clothes, with digital prints of old Philippines, have easy and shapeless silhouettes that can be worn by both males and females.
- KC PUSING: For “Fragments,” I stumbled upon Takahiro Hirayabashi’s Phantom Pain series but I find it not strong enough to use it as the only inspiration, so I started to play “Dragon Nest.” The video game is a perfect “escape” for me as I’ve made a new world with DeathEaters (S31)—and as time goes by, the idea of helping each other (in game and in real life) to kill monsters and achieve everyday goals made me realize that, why not use this as an inspiration? Palette-wise, I got it from the Phantom Pain and since it’s going to be a neutral androgynous streetwear luxe collection, Skechers was the perfect accessory as we share the same principles in Fragments—versatility, comfort and style.
- DODJIE BATU: With “Studs and Weaves,” I want to show my own interpretation of the linear patterns derived from the Mandaya tribe’s patterns without the colors. I’m greatly motivated by the confidence of a man who wants to wear my garments. My take is always to show how the body interacts with the material that I choose, like stretch linens and wool with stripes and dots.
- WILBUR LANG: For “Covenant,” the inspiration came about after watching movies starring Katharine Hepburn, most specially during the 1930s. I also got obsessed with Wiccan-themed movies (Practical Magic, The Craft, Beautiful Creatures) and TV shows (American Horror Story: Coven). I used plenty of eyelet cotton fabrics, wool and crepe.
- PATRICK LAZOL: For “Indayog,” I watched and was captivated by the contemporary dance performances of the Bayanihan Dance Company depicting the role of a babaylans, who were women community leaders during precolonial Philippines. Collecting fragments of culture from their story and mixing it with modern ideas of dressing was my motivation in working with this collection. Most pieces are oversized and exaggerated at some points, but the key was to portray both masculine and feminine identities of the babaylan by using cotton, denim, crepe and knit to more formal fabrics like jusi and wool.
- KELVIN MORALES: “Dance in the Dark” is an experimental, avant-garde collection inspired by the feeling of curiosity, fascination and fear of the dark. It focuses on movements, odd shapes and industrial materials like silicone rubber and acrylic glass, and lightweight fabric like cotton linen and organdy silk.
- CHRIS DIAZ: “Camino” depicts a roadside motel seduction in the 1950s (with nods from rockabilly, rodeo and greaser culture). Elvis, Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson, Bettie Page are also references for this collection. It’s hourglass for the ladies; working on with full skirts and pencils. Emphasis on the waist; midriff bustiers, with bows/keyholes. Belts with car seatbelt-like buckle in either plain or encrusted/feathery, with bolo ties and scarves as well as shirting worn with knots.
- REYNIER ABELLO: “Garden Of Earthly Delights,” the collection of Armada by Abello, is inspired by the corruption inside institutions like religion and cults. The opposing forces of religious observance and moral decomposition within such communities was a fascinating takeoff point for a collection that hinges toward strict tailoring while also veering toward deconstruction. It’s within this interesting tension that allows the pieces to become elevated from being plain and generic, guiding the direction into a realm of classicism with a tinge of perversity.
- JUN ESCARIO: “1972” is an ode to Halston. My focus has always been luxury and style, not fashionable. So fabric is always the key in any show I do. Pure silks, silk crepes and some beaded fabric but very minimal design. Some shoulders might be strong but I didn’t plan the collection to be “fashionable.” There were dangerously sexy pieces like the side boob and the uneven backless details with the liquid gold paint prints that I enjoyed doing the day before the show.