BANDOIX FLORES: FROM THE OLD GUARDS OF FASHION-PFW S/S 2011

Bandoix Flores’ creativity knows no bounds. This designer can push his creativity to the ultimate limits and each time he has proved it very successfully. His Spring/Summer  collection at the Philippine Fashion Week 2011 won him accolades.

This time he used his imagination and it was the edgy black that fascinated him, so his collection was inspired. And it did, carving out a distinctly original niche with a sharply refined and deceptively simple sense of aesthetic, designer Bandoix Flores’ sophisticated line of simple satin gowns all in black and white, redefined couture on day 5 GRAND ALLURE of Philippine Fashion Week 2011.

A member of Dubai’s fashion fraternity, Flores’ glorious collection of the finest in women’s wear will herald this new season of luxurious style.

He presented a couture line in splendid silks and chiffons, with transparent tulles and opaque fabrics, a palate that ranged from ivories to midnight black, crafted in refine aesthetics that remained well done  to create a unique experience in fashion and elegance.

Using the simplistic and minimalist concept, Bandoix Flores moulded fabrics around the body and achieve shapes and forms to the fluid outfits. Bandoix Flores remained an old guard with contemporary sense and sensibilities.

THE TEN TOP SPRING/SUMMER COLLECTIONS-Philippine Fashion Week 2011

Despite a lukewarm overall showing, the  PHILIPPINE FASHION WEEK 2011  Spring/Summer, did produce some winners. Trends were sketchy: a predictable palette interspersed with pops of colours and strewn patches of silhouettes on airy fabrics. While we sorely missed favourites like MICHAEL CINCO, the interesting collections did lift our spirits.

The PFW S/S 2011 , aimed to brighten up Manila with some razzle-dazzle after several typhoons that hit the capital, six days of the country’s grandest fashion extravaganza left a mixed aftertaste. When  master couturiers and next gen designers of the country assemble for a presentation, one expects nothing short of magic… but that is what was lacking. Somewhere, hopes were raised, sighs escaped, gasps were drawn, and the palpitation almost ruptured – but then again, almost.

The bright side is that our designers realized  that emulating western silhouette  is not the key to fit Asian parameters – improvisation according to need is acceptable. Thus,  designers presented what they considered to be their forte. Trouble is, the forte was largely, the common ground.

The TOP TEN SPRING/SUMMER COLLECTION OF THE PHILIPPINE FASHION WEEK 2001

1.RONALDO ARNALDO – The artistic and minimalist collection has wowed us  with its clean , high tailoring and textural technique finesse. With this fashion week, Arnaldo have honed this sensibility further by adopting deep fall hues to present an elegant series of seemingly mismatched silhouettes enhanced with color combination, fabric manipulation and sartorial finishing – a recreation of a metropolitan, urbane enchantment. Ronaldo Arnaldo’s elements, conceived collections  that suit global trends and hit the right spot.

2.CESAR GAUPO- This powerhouse of a talent has retained his hallmark of luxe creations after several years of fashion hiatus. In his Spring/Summer Collection, Cesar Gaupo has again managed to design an impeccable collection. Low key elegant dresses accentuate the appealing style providing extra lift. A member of the fashion elite and amongst the purveyors of fashion hierarchy, Gaupo’s form, structure and cut has raised the bar with a quietly dramatic black widow range of brilliantly sliced satin, slinky little dresses, exaggerated drapes and body construction. Splashes of burgundy, scarlet and fuchsia have livened up the fashionably sombre line merging the fluidity that complement Gaupo’s signature to perfection.

3.LITO PEREZ – The impressive maverick  of  pret-a- kitschy couture has left us spellbound again. Forget about the western agenda and just revelled in his retro inspirations of hispanic moda in photographic prints, very filipino, very PFW 2011. Ingenious mix patterns inspired by an era of illustrados, of historical walls and women in baro’t saya with little of baroque influences, echoing  more on wearable emphasis. Lito Perez’ collection rocks once again. Getting hold of a summery outfit with vintage treasures, the white linens and cottons, the prints, the indios dolls visually presented  Philippine Fashion Week in ‘FILIPINO WAY’.

4. GERRY KATIGBAK –We couldn’t miss the Monsieur Gerry Katigbak’s  influence even if we tried. We have watched and appreciated his personal style over the past few seasons, and a dose of colourfully flower prints reflected his love for life in his Spring/Summer collection. Created for the sociable young set, the airy and relax  summer line is  for the truly chic. Sassy asymmetrical diaphanous chiffon and georgette blouses in dots took a fancy and romantic  boho luxury. Gerry Katigbak’s nude flesh tones are  tasteful and elegant, the neutral palette of blush, flesh and nude makes a strong fashion statement this season.

5. KERMIT TESORO

6. OZ  GO

7. BANG PINEDA

8.ENRICO CARADO

9. XERNAN ORTICIO

10.SM Dept.Store Ladies Wear S/S Collection

photo credits: STYLEBIBLE

MELSON BOLANGAITA

MICHAEL FRANKS

RONALDO ARNALDO: REIGNING SUPREME -S/S PFW 2011

Ronaldo Arnaldo’s Spring/ Summer  collection at the Philippine Fashion Week 2011 was like early morning breeze with blooming freshness of flowers in spring . The delicate fabrics done in minimalist designs provided that sexy feminine look to his collection.

As Arnaldo’s signature, he  included dash of  other colors like yellows, reds and cobalt blues. The models took over the ramp with his mesmerizing feminine collection comprising of simple dresses in white with contemporary cuts and insertions of stripes.

Wearable and clean, the stunning designer pieces of  floaty dresses with trendy long skirts, provided the feeling of quite glamor, this designer emphasized heavily on the comfort factor of the garments.

Ronaldo Arnaldo is well known for his simple yet attractive clothing lines which are high on value and seductive quotient. Unlike other designers he preferred his garments to hang comfortably around the body instead of body hugging/tight fitting clothes. He used free flowing fabrics like crisp cotton, light translucent linens and stripe satin duchess.

Stunning silhouette, long lean white skirt with tails, slide neckline  blouses, deep shoveled armholes, low back and front necklines, were some types of garments he presented. In evening wear he glamorized the A-line tubular silhouettes with matte stones as arm blings. The ranges of colors choose by him for his collection were grey, black, pale yellow, red and white, thus the colors were also sober and subtle.

Arnaldo’s maturity in high tailoring and mastery in controlled silhouettes separates him from neophytes, wannabes, newbies and mere tailors.

photo credits: KESTER DEE

THANKS to MAGONLINE.COM

KERMIT TESORO: the FROCK PRINCE S/S PFW2011

Graphics and geometrics played the silhouette of the young and the experimental designer, Kermit Tesoro at Spring/ Summer Philippine Fashion Week 2011.

Inerbriated by his youthful exuberance and zest in life, his flight of  fancy brought us to the balance beam of young gymnast girls in  tight fit lycra, stretched diaphanous fabrics and spandex.

 In contrasting games of bands in rhombs and obliques, Tesoro’s girls strutted on the runway in Nadia Comanici’s ever 10′. The playfulness of exaggerated rattan in artisan shape did not make any sense, yet  it added the laborious display on models and thought that’s what they are paid for….to carry every designer’s excess luggages!.

Then at a flash, the magical and whimsical journey transported us to his final destination…the fabulous Cirque du Soliel….!!!! great.

It is nice to be young, an excuse for being abrupt, untamed and bold. The conceptualized patterns  were   nice visuals, but it showed the essence  between  mastery  in proportion and the precised tailoring. The puckering of the light soft fabrics  against the thick strips obviously is the designer’s nightmare.

I love Tesoro’s dimensional cut outs and the showing off little bit of skin, but I couldn’t separate my mind’s comparison of  Louis Magalona Claparols works at last year’s  YDG/FDCP. 

Giving Tesoro the necessary maturity in his sense and sensibilities, surely his aggressive approach and daring fashion’s push- to- the- wall attitude will surely pay him back. More fashion weeks, Kermit Tesoro will surely land one of the most promising fashion purveyors in Philippine Fashion Industry.

 photo credits: MELSON BOLONGAITA/MANILA

BANG PINEDA: The Male Factor- Philippine Fashion Week 2011 S/S

Change is the only constant  in life, or in more fashionable term-evolution, in men, in menswear. Bang Pineda’s Spring/Summer collection at Philippine Fashion Week 2011 plunged  into a new trend, to startle the faint hearted male in his new male-macho specimen in girly colors of loud, brash and major splashes of notch up tangerines, flourescent blue and beige.

BANG  PINEDA’s Male, like the designer himself,  strutted in the runway with  masculine finesse in  experimental palette, machismo dared not to. Carrying  off  vibrant orange  suit with an orange monochrome combo of trousers, jackets and matching shoes take lots of guts to penetrate the male psyche’, like his collection.Pineda is a dresser and  tried  all his sartorial  capabilities in creating  a collection in  an impeccable manner…and lost midway.

His style is more measured, with such dramatic flair, wearing loud colors is as much about the attitude as it is about the aesthetics and Bang Pineda gets both right, somehow. The new spur to the word ‘versatile’, the sourcing of his collection is a gamble, his new collection manifests a 360 degrees turn of domineering, fierce bravado manly characters, histrionically tough into a sweet -virginal -boys -in- harmless colors.

The vibrant oranges and blues belted jackets,  vests and the rolled out pants, made for a bold and powerful collection, injecting freshness this spring, but surely not for your average kind of guy who doesn’t  dare to be different.

The smattering of pop orange in his new kind of guy, free from confinement of the usual colors and shapes, are attention grabbers, but it doesn’t translate to a safe bet. Given his proclivity for creating menswear, Pineda is best known for sartorial and high stitched tailoring, his  ‘crew-meets-summer boys-gone- travelling- to-bora’ in loose shirts  and trousers are far cries from the almost perfect fit collections in the  past seasons.

photo credits: PAUL CORTEZ/MANILA

the KOHINOOR Collection

Albert Andrada/ PRESS KIT
for Philippine Fashion Week 2011 Spring/Summer
text by the STYLEMONGER-Butz Fuentes

Albert Andrada’s works reveal poetry and imagination.
His lines are solid and elegant in precious fabrics vamped with extravagant detailing.High in level of creativity, Andrada never forsakes quality for mass appeal and commercalism.” My client is a woman with attitude, she is strong with clear point of view.In other words, they wear the dress, the dress does not wear them”, he says.

Andrada has established his signature style, sculpted body shapes that define femininity.
Winning the Swarovski Awards for the Best Designer in Professional Category 2002, established his reputation and worked harder to hone his craft. A fashion design graduate from Slim’s, he cut his fashion teeth in the Emirates, where he learned the nuances of structures and embellishments.

Albert Andrada combines the old- school techniques in approach to tailoring and designs wih contemporary touches of trends and style. His 10 piece collection at the Philippine Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 is inspired by the rich culture of India. Titled “KOHINOOR”, the precious gem will bring the audience to the inner sanctum of the royalties- the Maharajas and Maharanis. The colors are beige, off white ,silver and gold.

The silhouettes are mixed Indian-contemporary like jodphur pants with edgy twists. Embellishments are in Swarovski crytals and elements with zardozi embroidery from the ethnic artisans from Udaipur and Rajasthan.
His first at the Philippine Fashion Week, Albert Andrada’s global appeal will surely bring excitement to the event.

ALBERT ANDRADA- KOHINOOR
SMX Mall of Asia Oct.31,2011
GRAND ALLURE 4:00PM
MANILA