Serendipity
A Week's Worth of Fashion: Philippine Fashion Week 2006 kicks off
Philippine Fashion Week (PFW) kicks off today. If things go as planned, I will be trooping to NBC Tent tomorrow to witness the second day of this 10-day major fashion event. But if there will be glitches in my schedule and other arrangements, then, I'll just patiently wait for whatever fashion tidbits I can gather from friends and event insiders (poor me!). Pathetic that may be, I know everything happens for a reason. And if glitches mean staying put in Iloilo, then I'll just wear my 4-inch heels and do my own ramp show in my living room - not!
Anyway, the whole objective of this article is for me to congratulate in advance and give my support to three of my closest friends who are part of PFW 2006. Designers Aldrich Aparicio, Eric de los Santos and Jasmine Castelo, the only Ilonggo designers invited to the event will again make Iloilo proud with their talent via their fashion creations that will be donned by Manila's top models. So, good luck to you my friends, you know that I'm always behind you and your endeavors. Hopefully, I'll be able to personally cover the whole event and witness for myself what Iloilo designers are made of!
For all you readers who don't know squat about the event, here's a short backgrounder: PFW is a yearly fashion event (akin to the ones in New York, Australia or Paris) staged by Runway Productions and spearheaded by the Espino brothers, Joey and Audie. I think this is PFW's 9th year and perhaps one of the biggest so far considering that over100 designers from all over the country are joining the 10-day event which will run from March 31 (today) until April 9. PFW will open with a special show tonight by the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP) which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The PFW series of shows will be held at the NBC Tent at The Fort for the first five days and the succeeding shows will then be staged at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati. The three Ilonggo designers, Aldrich, Jasmine and Eric will join the shows in NBC tent (last year they were part of the show in Glorietta). So do watch them if you happen to be in Manila in April 1-2. Other designers like Rajo Laurel, Kate Torralba, Renee Salud, Mitch Dulce, Tippi Ocampo, and a slew of other top Manila and provincial designers from Davao and Cebu will also astound, astonish, wow, or shock the crowd (beauty is relative and so is style) with their original creations.
I am so looking forward to this year's collections. PFW is perhaps one of the biggest venues for fashion (and anything to do with fashion) in the Philippines. It will be such a thrill to be able to witness trends, the latest styles, brands, products and designs from local designers, shops and boutiques. The objective of PFW is to be able to improve the industry as well as to create a venue to showcase, advertise and market fashion products and talent.
Whatever the outcome of PFW 2006, I'll be clapping my hands in applause (yes, until they'll go numb with pain) for my three talented friends who have once again bravely put Iloilo in the fashion map. Once again, to you three - my prayers and love are with you. Enjoy yourselves and wow 'em!
Stay tuned for more PFW updates next week!