NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Rome Oamil redefines the scout girl

For the longest time, it was deemed cool if you were part of the girl scouts, a band of young women who have a strong sense of self through knowing how to survive in the wild, have excellent entrepreneurial skills and even learning how to build a robot. In the perplexing zeitgeist of pop culture, young scouts have been portrayed in countless movies, with Wes Anderson’s spectacular coming of age film Moonrise Kingdom taking the cake.

So, it’s no surprise that Rome Oamil would take inspiration from this collective. “During the first days of my senior year, I had this vague idea of turning the girl scout silhouette into a whole other level,” she says. “Then I thought: ‘What if, instead of showing them who I am, I show them an idea of who I want to become?’” Living most of her life in Cebu, she was raised in an environment where creativity would flourish. “I liked watching my mom and dad work on materials such as shell and wood to make bags and jewelry. My childhood consisted mostly of school and attending fashion

trade shows around the world with my parents.” This unlikely upbringing would soon allow her to harness her eye for design and developing vision for her future brand.

Rome is well aware of the path she has fearlessly embarked on and isn’t afraid to face some obstacles along the way. “To build a legacy takes a matter of time and patience, so my plan is to seek more techniques through education and being an intern around the globe, to continue studying more about the arts and techniques of fashion while working for the best of designers from abroad.”