SoFA joins Philippine Fashion Week

MANILA, Philippines - The School of Fashion & the Arts, the Philippines first specialized fashion college, has hit a milestone. Poised and armed to take the fashion industry by storm, their first batch of graduates will be introduced through a Graduation Fashion show directed by Jackie Aquino at Philippine Fashion Week on May 30, Sunday at 1 p.m. 

This is also the first time that Philippine Fashion Week will be featuring students in their roster of shows. 

For more info on SoFA Graduation Show, call 8928-807 to be included in guestlist. 

The SoFA Graduation Fashion Show is partnered with Runway Productions, L’Oreal, Janilyn, Lifestyle Network and Magic 89.9.

Cassie Revereza

The 21-year-old fashion enthusiast took up fashion design and patternmaking classes in Cora Doloroso and Slims respectively, currently taking up fashion marketing in SoFA. “I believe that in order to stay in the fashion industry, one must be very well rounded, passionate and driven all at the same time,” she says. “My collection, entitled ‘Pearlesque’ is inspired by pearls’ reflection and shine and is composed of basic lingerie, sleep and lounge wear."

Charinson Balalilhe

”As a designer, my design aesthetic is more often influenced by structures. My graduation collection, under the theme ‘Reflection,’ represents luster or light and shine. I use stacks of beads and studs of different shapes and sizes to create a 3D effect. There is also abstract painting with beadings to create a special tricking effect.”

Melanie Lim

“My love for the classics, its elegance and femininity, is the main foundation of who I am as a designer. I love looking back, learning from the past and tweaking it to suit the modern woman, hence Modern Vintage. Being raised in a household of women, I make it a point to design according to what a woman wants and what a woman needs.”

Mark Tamayo

At 20, Marchie, as his friends call him, believes that a woman’s body is a beautiful work of art. For this graduation showcase themed “Identikit,” Marchie derived inspiration inspired from the skeletal structure of a fish. He also derived inspiration from the mineral pyrite. Buildings and structures also fascinate Marchie. The structure, shape and layer of concrete and the transparency of glass have been a great source of inspiration to him.

Kaye Morales

The 25-year-old self-taught designer has been designing since she was a kid. “I have my own line, Schizo, and also have made-to-order formals under my own label Kaye Morales,” she says. “I was inspired by an octopus because of its shape and form — it’s bilaterally symmetric by having form on two sides. I just wanted to show how the octopode signifies the strength and will that embraces the human’s body.”

Mikka Hernandez

Twenty-five-year-old Regina Mikka Velasquez is a mother of two boys. During her stay at the School of Fashion and the Arts, she was able to launch her own ready-to-wear brand called Misfits. Mikka gets her inspiration from different fashion eras, today’s pop culture and music. Now graduating, she has decided to focus on her made-to-order brand. Mikka will be playing with one of the key trends for fall 2010, Exotic, concentrating on nature and tulips for her SoFA graduation show collection.

Noelle Llave

“Having watched CSI and House, I was inspired by the human anatomy, the shape and skeletal features. Creating details such as cutouts and 3D architectural patterns is how I was able to translate the inspiration throughout the collection. The feel and look of ‘Humanation’ will be futuristic and inspired by the shapes and skeletal features of the human anatomy.”

Fold Canela

Christopher Juergen Canela aka Fold Canela took up BA film and audio-visual communication at UP and graduated cum laude in 2008. His ultimate goal in life is to be able to fuse fashion and film together in a grand video art piece.

His graduation collection is entitled “Rob the Armory” and is about being optimistic yet vigilant of whatever lies ahead. He describes his collection as rugged street wear meets medieval samurai. The collection is primarily composed of jeans and jersey tops adorned with chains, producing a chainmail effect, and metal plates, made from galvanized iron.

Kim Palma

“My designs are rich, dramatic, out of the ordinary and very feminine and combined with elegance and wearability,” she says. “My theme is about the curious clash of tapestry and techno. My collection is composed of a precise pattern and texture of spray painted effect of the fabric.”