An oasis of cool in your wardrobe

The unavoidable stress surrounding the holiday season has finally sunk in with most of us, as we push to meet the sudden onslaught of deadlines and brave the congested streets of the metro. And even though December is supposed to be the month when people should be dressed their best, admittedly, even the most sartorially prepared of people can let their day-to-day ensembles fall by the wayside in the middle of all the stress and festivities.

Taking the concerns of the modern-day woman into account, Harlan+Holden’s holiday collection takes inspiration from the most soothing of mental images: cascading waters. Evident in particular blouses, which feature streamlined, undulating ruffles on either side, tops accented with soft, vertical pleats and in the way the entire collection falls and flows around the body, it’s as if the design team took Masaru Emoto’s famous water experiment and applied it to clothing.

In the same sense, being comfortable and confident in what you’re wearing can make you exude the most affable of auras. Harlan+Holden’s fluid collection features different types of silk and crepe to create flattering, graceful silhouettes that cascade down the body. The design team chose a cool palette of greens and blues, accented with hints of orange and neutral tones. And although the brand is known for its soft, loose silhouettes, Eman Pineda, the brains behind Harlan+Holden, maintains that they’re versatile for different body types. “There is a misconception that wearing loose or relaxed items are for heavier women,” he starts. “This is, of course, not true. As you can see on our mannequins, our look can also be very sexy.”

Indeed, shoppers will be drawn in by the long, sinewy wooden mannequins, sourced especially from Paris by the design team, at the window display of the new standalone boutique in Shangri-La Plaza Mall, which opened just earlier this week. The mannequins, Pineda explains, highlight the construction of the clothing, which fall better on a woman’s figure than on a hanger. “Harlan+Holden has zero hanger appeal,” he explains.

Inside, the elegant wooden and glass interiors, soothing, soft lighting, along with the simple and straightforward display of the clothing, all offer a respite from the other retail atmospheres that seem to be an assault on the senses. As Pineda says, the goal really was to make the store clean, modern and warm — similar to all the qualities that the Harlan+Holden label stands for.

By introducing a selection of wearable, fuss-free yet sophisticated pieces to your wardrobe, figuring out what to wear will be one less stressful thing to worry about this month and in the coming year.

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Harlan+Holden is available at Adora, 3/F Greenbelt 5 and in standalone boutiques at the G/F of Power Plant Mall and 2/F Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Pasig.