My Exclusives: Prom Night

Meet Yso and Zoe. Their parents are very good friends of mine. I've known these 2 young girls since they were born! They grew up together and are also very good friends. Last year, they both had their proms and, of course, I had to make sure that I'd be the one to make them their very first couture gowns!

Prom dresses are fun to make. I always keep in mind that I'm designing for young girls. That means, the outcome should be age appropriate, fresh and, of course, fun. They should be comfortable, so they could party all night and, more importantly, feel confident in the dress. This you will see in the way they conduct themselves, how they walk, sit, stand and smile in pictures.

This year, Yso and Zoe are off to college. So are the kids of my other friends! Sniff, sniff, they're all growing up so fast.

Yso wore a pink chiffon dress with a halter neckline. The upper bodice is embellished with silver and metallic stones. This is actually a dress with a long skirt. She can opt to wear it as a short dress as well.  She plays badminton, the violin and makes really good Paella!

Zoe, in purple, with a friend. Her purple silk chiffon dress features a beaded strap that comes in from the front and goes all the way to the back holding up a cascade of fabric. The beadwork is a mix of black, magenta, dark blue and pink crystals, pearls and cut beads. Check out Zoe's home-made, home-recorded videos which she edited, sang and starred in. Talk about uber talented!

My Exclusives: Janina Dizon-Hoschka

My good friend Janina and I share the same ideas when it comes to style. I think it's because we're both children of the 80's. We like the same music and we identify with almost anything from that era. We also don't mind laughing ourselves silly, even at formal events. Here, she is wearing an off-white shirt dress in pure silk which features a slashed back and a bow at the nape. Her cuff, ring, earrings and double brooch were all designed by her.
Check out her jewelry pieces at http://janinadizon.com/2010C/

Photo taken by http://www.dtanph.com/

P.S. Janina asked me to post this so you could see the back detail. Thanks, Janina!

My Drawings

My first foray into the world of fashion was when Marge Enriquez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer asked me to do a fashion report on my first trip to Europe in 2000. I came up with several sketches of what people were wearing in Paris, London and Rome. After it was published, Marge would ask me to contribute to their Fashion and Lifestyle section by doing illustrations for her almost every week. That made me realize, perhaps, my illustration style has a place in the fashion industry. It was a long time passion of mine to design clothes as well. So I decided to enter the Mega Young Designers' Competition in 2002. Armed with very little knowledge in garment construction and a lot of encouragement from Marge and my good friend, designer Gregg Centeno, I submitted a collection which I executed in acrylic paint on black paper. I was thinking, if hundreds of entries were going to be judged, I'd better make kick-ass sketches to get noticed and reach the finals. And I did.

Here are a few of my favorite sketches. These are not the ones for Inquirer or Mega. These are just random drawings which I did through the years and just kept them because they look more like pieces of art. I will post more in the future.

My Music: Need You Now by Cut Copy

My Work: Nikka

Nikka wanted a wedding gown inspired by the roaring 20's. We based her design on the classic flapper dress. We used yards and yards of champagne colored chiffon for her skirt. The champagne colored lace bodice is fully beaded with crystals and gold cut beads.  I suggested diamond studded straps on her shoulders reminiscent of Cartier jewelry during that era. Nikka and I also managed to pull a surprise on everyone during the reception, which no one noticed during the ceremony.

Styling is key for themed weddings. Hair and Make-up artist Denise Ochoa styled Nikka to look like a Shanghai Diva straight out of the illustrated posters. Her bright red lips emphasized her big bright smile. To complement the color, Nikka asked for a bouquet of red roses with black ostrich feathers. The overall effect was decadent and elegant.

A champagne gown with a drop waist inspired  by the flapper dress of the 20's.
Yards an yards of chiffon was used to create the ruffled skirt.

A beautiful portrait of Nikka shot at the Peninsula Manila http://www.peninsula.com/Manila/en/default.aspx
Too bad, Salon de Ning wasn't around yet during her wedding. That would have been a perfect location for Nikka.
She could've been Madame Ning herself!

Nikka's dramatic and decadent bouquet of red roses and black ostrich feathers.

Surprise! No one knew she was wearing a short dress with a long skirt. All she did was take off the skirt
to let the dancing begin! Cheers Nikka and Will!

My Ad

My Inspiration: Fitted sheets, pillow cases and slipcovers

These photos illustrate the inspiration behind this particular collection I did for Philippine Fashion Week 2005.

I looked at the garments as flat pieces of fabric which will be stuffed, pulled and twisted by the human body. If you lay them down flat, most of them are rectangles and squares. Once worn, the shape follows the curves of the body. Some pieces have gartered hems and necklines to create poufs and creases. Skirts have 3-dimensional cube patterns. The men's shirts have details resembling slip covered sofas. I chose muted colors for this collection to emphasize where lines begin and end.  I also added witty touches like extra sleeves that are used as sashes around the waist. Like lazy shirts hanging on the back of a chair.