A Pasion for freestyle

The year was 1997. Being a mover in cutting edge fashion shows, I was asked to work on a project with a brash young design group called Warp. A fresh auteur named Ronald Pasion, who was part of the team, caught my interest. Ronald had dreadlocks, wore military clothes as street wear, and inspired a steady crew of "warpies" consisting of artists and musicians. That show was one of the best collaborations I’ve ever done in my entire career. It was the first and definitely won’t be the last. Since then, we’ve shared countless of ideas together that gave birth to unforgettable projects and an inevitable friendship.

Fast forward to the year 2004. The goal: To feature an artist with tremendous creative capacity for YStyle. I was given two weeks to work on the project. I looked at the calendar and checked the date. It was May 1 and the clock was ticking.

May 1 in numericals reads 5-01. The date had possibilities. That got the wheels turning, and led to the idea of recharging the classic Levi’s 501 and injecting it with a freestyle vibe.

I picked up my phone and punched Ronald’s digits. I asked him to re-create Levi’s 501s the Pasion way. Next concern was to get the right man to capture it. I’ve been wanting to collaborate with master lensman Steve Tirona, and this seemed like the perfect time.

Next step. Choosing the perfect faces. Now, in an industry where hot faces are born every day, getting the right look for the shoot required seemed difficult. However, at the end of the day, we chose MTV Fashionista winners Gilmarie Pacamarra and Bjorn Engler. Joining them was Martin Jickain, who, in my opinion, is one of the faces to watch out for.

The collaboration was intense and we have the pictures to prove it. Again another unforgettable meeting of minds. All I can say is watch out for more.

Ronald Pasion is set to party at "Soulitary Confinement," a first solo exhibit on May 22 at Penguin Café in Malate.