Esme Palaganas
What was your inspiration for your new collection?
Restraint — the capsule that I presented for the ball is a push and pull of polar opposites. The bold and the subtle, the volume and textures. But in the sense of selfcontrol, it’s not something you really rely on. The idea started when I was making the gray shift dress piece for an inter-school showcase. I wanted to explore the idea and create more pieces.
What were your references when you were conceptualizing this collection?
Definitely ’60s movies (Audrey Hepburn’s movies specifically Sabrina and Roman Holiday!) and the illustrator Jenny Walton. There’s always a sense of easiness, practicality with the things that they wear and they’re not in jeans and shirts. There’s style and thought. Jenny Walton has this graceful Old World easiness that I want to put in this collection. Can you tell us about this season’s
man/woman? She has a life. She goes out, she works and she parties. She can wear the green sequined skirt and pair it with a T-shirt and go drink at an event with an Old Fashioned or Negroni. She can wear the gray-pink tube top with a pair of high-waist denim jeans and meet people for coffee. This collection is the crazy part of her varied wardrobe. She isn’t going anywhere. She’s just merely living her life and does not let the clothes dictate where or what she’s going. She can dress up and dress down. She’s easy. She mixes and matches. How is your new collection similar or different from your last collection?
It’s very similar to my previous collections in silhouette. My silhouette always has a familiarity, I want people to feel like they’ve seen it before but looking up close you know there’s something different, unusual, peculiar about it — whether the textile or fabric manipulation. It’s very different in colors and textures. Teal! Neon green! Pink! My team was really surprised when I took out the sequined tulle! What do you think is your best contribution to the fashion industry?
In the past two years that I’ve been doing collections, I try to push the boundaries when it comes to textile and concept. I tried the “omnichannel” approach when we launched the collection for Religion Black. I gravitated toward my love for literature and Philippine costume and made it relatable and wearable. I try not to be dictated by trends and just put out my voice through clothes. I think it takes a lifetime to contribute something. Right
now, with my fellow awardees we just do what we do and are lucky enough to inspire people along the way. How do you describe the local fashion in today’s youth culture?
Varied. I think this certain youth/generation hates labels (oh, in love and in life!). They don’t want to be branded as a certain subculture. They embrace it, all kinds of it but they don’t want that to dictate who they are. Especially since we are influenced by so many things — Korean, Western, Japanese, music, movies, subcultures, mainstream fashion. Philippine fashion is young and thriving and we’re still figuring out who we are. The look, it’s pretty exciting. Who among the local designers do you look up to, and why?
Joey Samson’s designs make me feel excited even if I know he’s a minimal designer. Rajo (Laurel) in terms of the business savvy aspect of his empire and several streetwear labels whose collections are very well thought-out. How do you see your brand/label in the next five years? With a bigger team — sales, merchandising, design — and still churning out ideas.