The life aquatic

MANILA, Philippines - Inspired by the biodiversity of marine life fused with an extraterrestrial edge, accessory designer Ken Samudio took his S/S 2015 collection titled “Aquapocalypse” on the road to international acclaim. Chosen as one of Vogue Italia’s Vogue Talents for 2014, the designer is currently showing in Italy’s premier fashion exhibition — Pitti Immagine — as one of 12 emerging labels from all over the globe.

YStyle talks to Ken Samudio about his collection, Vogue Italia, and his experience at Pitti Immagine.  

YSTYLE: If you could briefly tell us, how did your journey to Italy begin? When did your pieces catch the eye of the editors of Vogue Italia?

KEN SAMUDIO: I was one of the representatives sent from the Philippines to the International Fashion Showcase at London Fashion Week, thanks in large part to the British Fashion Council. One of my pieces, the Urchinae clutch, was spotted by Sara Maino, senior fashion editor of Vogue Italia magazine and the head scout for Vogue Talents.

It’s a charming story because I’m not even sure how she got my contact details because we never met at my booth space in IFS London. She had emailed me saying that I was pre-selected for the shortlist of Vogue Talents for 2014. I sent her my CV, my latest collection, my look book, mood board sketches — everything she asked for. Next thing I knew, a feature on myself and my S/S 2015 collection came out in the 50th anniversary September issue of Vogue Italia. 

That’s wonderful — so then, how did you get a booth exhibition at Pitti Immagine on top of the Vogue Italia feature?

That’s the second surprise I got from this whole experience. First of all, among seemingly hundreds of hopefuls, I was lucky enough to be featured as a Vogue Talent for 2014. It still isn’t sinking in. 

Then after some time, I was told by Sara Maino that Franca Sozzani (editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia) had personally chosen my collection to represent the Philippines at Pitti Immagine. I was to take part in the Super Talents exhibition at one of the trade pavilions. Only 12 emerging labels were chosen and I feel really lucky to be one of them.

Super Talents is known for scouting the globe for labels of a point of view and research innovation in both  design and materials, can you tell us more about your S/S 2015 collection?

My inspiration for Aquapocalypse S/S 2015 is the allegiance of alien life and marine organisms as they wage war against humanity. I took it closer to home and culled from my professional experience as a marine biologist and the vast natural resources of our country. Between creeping alien shapes to reef-like ornamentation, this is my way of getting the message across that it’s high time we took care of the environment.

I developed the reef-life texture by up-cycling mineral water bottles as plastic beads. I stitched them up in an upright position to achieve that tactile feeling. I also recycled the linings of old furniture and car upholstery as the base of most of my pieces.

Pitti Immagine lies at the heart of Europe’s most important fashion markets. How was your collection received?

The reception at Pitti was overwhelming. I was often approached by both buyers and casual visitors saying that my collection held a very different point of view from everything they had seen in the fair. Others went as far as to say that they had never seen anything like it. I felt proud to be given the opportunity to represent Filipino design as I think my pieces are somewhat a reflection of our heritage: a rich marine ecosystem and diverse natural resources.

I made contact with quite a number of buyers from independent boutiques all over Europe. The experience was widely gratifying as the pieces were a hit with merchandizers and the amount of interested stockists is overwhelming. Truth be told, I am most excited about the meetings I had with Luisa Via Roma, Net-a-Porter and a certain Milan-based luxury retailer that I am not yet at liberty to divulge.

On the editorial level, Vogue Italia, Cosmopolitan Italia, WomensWearDaily, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Gioiello and Marie Claire have expressed interest and I conducted a few interviews about the collection. Needless to say, I’m very excited.

Exciting times indeed — any interesting stories to share?

Well, as of press time, I haven’t met Franca Sozzani yet but I’m really hopeful that we get to meet and I could express my thanks. Sara Maino and Allesandro Buzzi (senior stylist at Vogue Italia) have been very accommodating and have promised full press support from here on out.

For a little kilig, I was really pleased when the event organizers related to me that my booth enjoyed the most attention among the Super Talents exhibitors. I received a lot of post -event orders and my samples were sold out. I am now reduced to writing my contact details on shredded pieces of paper because my business cards have long since run out.

As a final note and taking your experience as a whole at Pitti, what is the strength of Filipino design vis-a-vis the global fashion stage?

I think the success of my collection owes itself to some of the hallmarks of Filipino design, which is an understanding of craftsmanship, the ability to innovate, and resourcefulness despite limited resources and financial capability. I find that our general point of view caters to finding beauty in the most mundane things. We don’t necessarily have the best raw materials (leather, gemstones, metals, etc.) but we bring so much talent and creativity to the table. I hope my small successes in Milan can be a touchstone for other Filipino designers to create with a global perspective in mind.