CYBER CITY
Mixing practicality with high-octane dressing, Yves Camingue creates a world where opposing forces unite to create a new narrative
“Every great design begins with an even better story,” said designer Lorinda Mamo. One must have purpose and resolve before the act of creation. What ignites designers are stories that can come from a song, an art piece or just their wild imagination. This propels them to create their own story and translate these into garments. This is the reality for designer Yves Camingue. “Music and emotions trigger my creativity, so I turn on one of my Spotify playlists. If I’m not in the mood, I don’t force creativity. Color comes to mind fiirst, then silhouette, and then form—whilst thinking of the fabric already and the separate pieces. Function is the punctuation mark to my designs,” he shares.
His design journey started at quite a young age. In elementary school he had a sleepover at his cousin Ma. Christina Buo’s place where she showed him wedding gown sketches. From the intricate details of the dresses to the veil and bouquet that would accompany the gown, Camingue was stunned and fiinally discovered the world of clothes. Soon enough he was designing costumes for his class mates to the delight of everyone who saw potential in him. One of his early successes was designing a majorette costume for their schools Drum & Bugle Corps. Because of his creations the team won “best in costume” two years in a row. With both form and function in his mind, Camingue’s design aesthetic was taking form.
His brand has a distinct look, one which combines dressed up glamour with the rawness of the streets. “Disruption of glamour through streetwear
and vice versa. Ruff fl es or flourishes on strict tailoring, metallics and most recently, glittered suits. I take in concepts of streetwear staples but incorporate strict tailoring disciplines,” he shares. For him designing clothes is creating an aspiration, telling a story of ambition and bridging the bourgeouisie with ultra glamour, the practicality with the ostentatious.
His latest collection is no diffferent as he reimagines a dystopian future where peace is at its center; where survival isn’t about violence but a way to a better future. A collection created in the midst of the pandemic, Camingue just wanted to create clothes that mattered. It has allowed him to question fashion as a whole and its concepts of luxury. He calls it “Cyber City,” where duality is combined into pieces that fully embody both form and function. “This collection marries practicality with ambition, so it can interact with our ever-evolving lives. You get utilitarian details with lightweight waterproof jackets, new ways of closing your parkas and adjusting the size of pants, fresh colors for loungewear, the simplest buttondowns and pants set done in the most luxurious silk and suits that are versatile,” he shares.
In keeping up with these values as a designer, Camingue is able to let loose in creating his collections. He presses play in his current playlist and lets his mind and hand start the conversation, one that doesn’t just stay in his mind but reaches his customers and the rest of the world. That is the vision he sees for the future of fashion: a world of authenticity and transparency.