From the boardroom to the gym, and back
(Reprinted from the August 8, 2008 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)
Fashion is just a reflection of what’s happening around us,” said Rajo Laurel. “If the people need more outerwear and workout clothes to attain a healthy lifestyle, as designers we have to provide that.”
Thus came about “Fitness.Fashion,” the SRO curtain raiser to the Samsung-sponsored Inquirer Lifestyle Series, held last Thursday at Peninsula Manila. After Samsung, major sponsors are HSBC, The Peninsula Manila. The brands behind the show are Kipling, Speedo, Puma, Fila, Bench, Nike Golf, Marks & Spencer, Adidas, Aigle, Oxbow, Swatch and L’Oreal.
A collaboration between Manila’s top designers and leading activewear brands, the show featured fitness icons as guest models.
Lulu Tan-Gan said, “Thelma (Lifestyle editor who conceived the project) keeps us designers competitive and challenges us to trend-set... Today’s health-craze lifestyle is balance at work and play. Having to change gear from work to exercise can take time. The ideal is to be half-dressed for the action. This generation is selective and will not do active performance without style.”
Tan-Gan added: “It would be great if active sports brands can add new top-end lines that fuse athletic sportswear and style, with designers coming up with high-fashion athletic wear that focuses on sports performance.”
That may not be a long shot. This early, the project has already produced results. At least one designer is now in discussions to develop a fitness line, while a few others are adding sportier looks to their RTW lines.
Louis Claparols’ ‘Star Wars’ for Speedo
Since last year, Louis Claparols’ garments have taken a sportswear feel. Thus, “Fitness.Fashion” was a natural fit. A devout yogi, he didn’t, however, design around yoga. He worked around the brand’s Spa Collection of basic black swimwear and loungewear, influenced by the uniforms of the imperial storm troopers on “Star Wars.” He designed skirts, leggings, sheer tops and boleros in contrast black, blue and white for “visual impact.”
Lulu Tan-Gan’s futuristic tenniswear for Fila
Knits queen Lulu Tan-Gan stuck to her signature knits—tube ribbings, spaced dyed texture—to jazz up Fila’s tennis line of traditional tops, dresses, skirts, skorts and culottes. Her theme was “Spacey at the Court,” featuring what she described as “futuristic, fun, easy pieces.” In a nod to tradition, Tan-Gan maintained Fila’s traditional black, red and white, but used yellows for accent. In keeping with the futuristic theme, she used nylon thread for the knits with metal hardware thrown in.
Ivarluski Aseron’s couture touch for Puma
Hussein Chalayan will reportedly create a collection for Puma, which made Ivarluski Aseron especially thrilled to work with the brand. Aseron’s first activewear line paired Puma pieces with jackets and pants with couture touches—pleatings and drapings, patchwork patterns. “There were couture techniques, but they were very wearable. I put no linings and the fabrics were very easy (cotton piqué).” The good news: Similar pieces will be sold under his line for Myth.
Barba’s Suzanne Lenglen inspiration for Kipling
A strong believer in clothes that breathe and move with the wearer, Vic Barba looked to the French tennis great of the flapper era, Suzanne Lenglen, for inspiration. Lenglen was famous for both her ferocity on the court (31 grand slam titles), emotional displays and rebellious fashion style. At the time when stiff, long-sleeved dresses were the regulation court uniform, Lenglen opted for lightweight and gossamer dresses by Jean Patou. Barba similarly went for easy silhouettes—jumpsuit, maxi dress, shirtdress, roomy pants and Capri pants for men. He used stretch materials like cotton, jersey, twill.
Anthony Nocom’s preppy line for Nike Golf
A veteran menswear designer though a complete novice in golf, Anthony Nocom found it a pleasant surprise that Nike Golf’s shirts, specifically the Tiger Woods collection, were all in bright colors. Nocom designed shorts in candy-striped fabrics, and sport jackets, including a denim, to go with his after-tee, clubhouse look. His styling was very preppy; he layered the golf tees and threw in some pastel-colored belts. He picked a pair of lime-green pants that had “no hanger appeal” from Nike’s own collection, in the hope of moving it from the selling floor.
Patrice Ramos-Diaz’s feminine details for Adidas
“My collection was an attempt to show harmony between two concepts that are more often than not perceived as opposites— femininity and physical strength,” Patrice-Ramos-Diaz said.
Girly hooded ponchos, electric-pleat tulle and lace skirts and glammed-up tennis jumpsuits combined well with seemingly masculine Adidas pieces in techno fabrics.
“With the use of ornamentation and styling—crystal brooches, ribbon ties, fuchsia jersey wrist bands and thigh-high jersey leg warmers, and the use of materials such as tulle and metallized lace, I tried to push femininity to explore its contradiction to masculinity while still proving that fitness and strength can be found in a girly girl.” A fitness buff, Ramos-Diaz made sure her collection reflected that sports can be fun also for benchwarmers.
“I think fashion motivates people to get into a sport,” she said.
Joey Samson’s fresh take for Bench
To bring a fresh, more sophisticated feel to a mass retail brand like Bench was the challenge for Joey Samson.
He chose to inject the aesthetics of Japanese sportswear into the collection and added prevailing trends such as rock-star jackets and wide-leg sequined pants for formal cruise looks, if toned down by the fitness slant.
To contrast Bench’s multicolor palette, he went for a subtler black-and-white collection with some red accents. Samson used vintage fabrics from Cubao, which proved to be not enough when his initial ideas led to new ones.
No matter how basic a brand is, one can put a twist to it, he said. “The idea is to make something one can wear from work to workout or vice versa... In one look, I had a tuxedo jacket thrown over a golf outfit. That’s where the trick lies. When you say tuxedo, it doesn’t have to be strictly formal.”
Randy Ortiz’s military look for Puma
Randy Ortiz had earlier conceptualized an urban safari and military-inspired look for his Rainy Season Collection for Myth boutique. His collaboration with Puma was anchored on it, proving again that it’s not a stretch to marry sportswear with special designer pieces.
His palette was of khakis, fatigues and browns. “It’s how a designer chooses to dress it up—as street-casual couture or more dressed-up and upbeat. There’s a change in lifestyle. Everyone is into wellness. At a certain point, it jives,” he said. The military look is more a fashion statement than a political,” he clarified. And “it’s rebellious in that aspect.”
James Reyes’ modern gladiator for Speedo
The Olympian as a “modern gladiator” was James Reyes’ concept for Speedo.
To his delight, one of his pieces landed on the front page of the Inquirer last week, no small thanks to his model, sports advocate Sen. Pia Cayetano. Reyes likes to refer to his clothes as “non-garments” and mere add-on pieces to the Speedo Competition Line swimwear. He made shorts, hoodies, capelets and abbreviated jackets. They’re like “armory,” he said. For the senator, he made a jacket in deference to her stature. But “I was surprised because she didn’t want to wear it. She’s proud of her body. She’s very athletic.” Cayetano took to the catwalk in a headline-ready, bareback swimsuit paired with Reyes’ loose black skirt that grazed the floor.
Rhett Eala’s retro for Adidas
Himself a creative director for a casual-sportswear brand, Rhett Eala took the challenge as an expanded venue for a recent mini exhibit of his artworks. Deciding to use Adidas accessories for the collection, he transferred his nationalist and Damien Hirst-inspired paintings via silkscreen on polo shirts and bottoms from the brand Collezione, which he designs. For a retro feel, he went for a solid black-and-white collection.
Arcy Gayatin’s dance icons for Marks & Spencer
Choosing camisoles, basic tees and stretch pants from the British clothing brand, the Cebu designer decided to give a nod to modern dance’s grand dames Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham in her collection. Marks & Spencer gave her free rein to embellish the pieces. “It was fun,” she said. “I can relate [to the looks]. It means you can have a basic tee and an embellished skirt and even wear it to a formal affair.” The exercise was a positive project “to give people an idea that you can fuse these two ideas: off the rack and made to order.”
Rajo Laurel’s sports-to-sensual look for Aigle and Oxbow
His was a tough test: merging his aesthetics—romantic, luxurious and sexy—with that of two relatively unknown brands (at least locally). Aigle is a French outdoor-camping brand, while Oxbow creates surfing gear. Laurel picked out Aigle’s linen and earth-toned pieces and “resized them for more sensual shapes.” His own pieces were mixed with Oxbow’s swimsuits and shorts. “My vision was for a woman like my muse, Jeena Lopez, who rock-climbs one day, surfs and kite-boards the next, then goes to a club the next day,” Laurel said. He is now in talks with a brand to develop a fitness line.
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