Philippine Fashion Week preview: An ethereal flame

How do you define a soul connection through clothes?

 Michele Sison, who rose to fame as a designer in the late ’90s, started the bag revolution before others started to bead theirs, and put up a standalone store in Rockwell even before Greenbelt put up a designer store section, is on a comeback trail. She went on a temporary hiatus during the early 2000s for introspection and work-related research; 2011 marks her grand comeback.

 I grew up watching Michele work in her Corinthian Garden atelier, countless hours sketching and draping and dealing with tailors and her manangs as they meticulously sewed clothes for countless clients — a mishmash of politicians’ wives, celebrities, and society types, all of whom swirled in and out of her studio, all becoming her close friends, as Michele’s free spirit is magnetic and mysterious at the same time. Even her co-designers loved her — she was the beloved “Thumbelina,” a name she was fondly called by dear friends and other designers. I grew up in the midst of this company of creative people. In a way, Michele was like a sister slash mother to me. So yes, this is my Mother’s Day slash Sister’s Day piece. Michele played both in my life.

At that time, I was unaware that Michele had just been widowed. She never showed any signs of weakness, only strength. She had to play mother to her then little boy Gio, to me, to her clients who called her for their clothes and other concerns. The fashion industry is always parodied to be filled with self-centered creatures, but in truth, the people who inhabit the industry are the most selfless friends you’ll ever encounter in your life. They are just obsessed with beauty — the creation of it. And rightfully so.

Michele and Junjun

Fringe benefits

 I will never forget the one month I spent living with Michele as she furthered her fashion studies at London’s Central St. Martins. Each day after school, we would walk around the shops, stalk the streets and hop around the museums for doses of inspiration. Here was a soul that was constantly in search for the new and the now. I was a willing backseat driver, enjoying the ride and learning as we went along our travels. Along the course of her career, which included a critically-acclaimed joint show with Inno Sotto and Pepito Albert — (they were the Philippine representatives for the ASEAN Design Show, a landmark fashion event in the ’90s that gathered te entire region), she has met and collaborated with the best and the brightest, so it was such a joy seeing her in action during this exclusive Supreme shoot last Sunday in her home. This page features a teaser of Michele Sison’s Fashion Week collection.

This coming Philippine Fashion Week also marks the debut of Junjun Ablaza, one of her best friends and frequent co-collaborators from years past. I remember assembling a ’20s-inspired party for Michele’s birthday. Junjun transformed the venue into a tantalizing ’20s ballroom filled with feathers and foliage. Through the years, Junjun and I have collaborated as well, throwning theme parties in my years as eventologist, putting giant mushrooms as part of the setting, creating grand altars as centerpieces, hanging unicorns on the ceiling as part of the scenery. On May 12 at the SMX in SM MOA, you will witness Junjun’s first public collaboration with best friend Michele Sison as Junjun marks his debut as accessories designer to Michele’s clothes.

 Junjun Ablaza’s pieces are iconic, from feathered vests to Japanese geisha masked necklaces to chandelier neck ornaments, they blend the intricate into the ethereal. Very much like Junjun’s love for transforming spaces into over-the-top indulgences into the imagination, his accesories are collectible pieces that are museum- worthy. As early as now, people are already lining up for his works. And that is just after posting a preview of his works on Facebook!

The strips appeal

 I am most excited for this creative marriage of Michele’s playful sophistication and Junjun’s larger-than-life exhuberance. Not to mention our “mother” Henri Calayag, who is masterminding the hair and makeup creations for this three-way opus. Expect an out-of-this-world labor of love and life, one that only Michele, with her warm heart and deep soul plus sense of distinct style, deliver. Ladies, you don’t have to all look alike.

Stand tall and deliver. See you May 12.

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