Happy Andrada returns from the future
Filipino fashion designer Happy Andrada is going global. She was selected recently by Fashion Week Netherlands and Vodafone to showcase her autumn/winter 2016 collection in the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Amsterdam held in TransformatorhuisWestergas fabriek, Amsterdam. Happy was supported by Samsung and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Happy’s next show was during the London Fashion Week at The Hilton Hotel, Paddington, London, United Kingdom last Feb. 20.
Happy Andrada’s collection is inspired by the aesthetic of interplanetary proportions and allusions from futurists and their theories of the world to come. The fusion of inorganic concepts with organic materials becomes the visual and textural poetry of her pieces. Using
piña abaca, abaca lace, Philippine duponi combined with denim, organza, taffeta, silk and charmeuse, she anchors details with the familiar to create something surreal. She focuses on intricacy of digital printing, dip dyeing, laser cuts, origami, appliqués braiding and looping of materials, resulting in a statement that only comes from a true fashion visionary.
Andrada studied fashion courses at Central Saint Martins in London. She makes Filipinos everywhere proud by winning several international awards, including Miami Fashion Week International Emerging Designer. Andrada also won two major awards at the 3rd Asian Weddings and Arts Competition in Hong Kong. She was a grand prize winner of Switzerland’s Swatch Watch competition, awarded Smart Choice winner in the Weaving the Future competition by the Fashion Design Council of the Philippines, where she recently became a member; and was awarded Inspiring Young Entrepreneur by Go Negosyo.
A world- class designer, Andrada showcased her design talents in the International Art and Fashion Biennale Changsha, China ( 2015), Fibre Rome, Milan, Italy (2014) International Fashion and Art Exhibit in Seoul, Korea (2014), Fashion and Art Exhibition in Beijing China (2013), Women’s Wear Daily Convention in Las Vegas (2013) and Fashion Week Toronto Canada (2012), Topstyle designer event in Czech Republic (2012), Fashion Art Exhibit in Netherlands (2011), Animax featured designer in Singapore, Korea’s International Fashion Art Biennale (2010, 2012) and Japan’s Fashion Design Competition (2012).
Known for her unique, complex detailing, masterful use of material and a style that has her personal brand seared on it, Andrada is a perennial show stopper since her first fashion show. To date, she has had over 70 fashion shows. Balancing vision and wearability, Happy sells her ready-to-wear line at her website www.happyandrada.com and showcases her creations at F*ART Fashion ART located at 24 J. Erestain corner K-1st, Kamuning, QC.