A good Mix(y)
Opening a season of Philippine Fashion Week (PhFW) is a singular honor given to a select few. But when this privilege was bestowed on a young and up-and-coming designer, fashion watchers sat up and took notice.
And Mixy Dy proved she was up to the task, presenting her debut collection of agate geode-inspired pieces as the first show of PhFW’s Holiday Season 2017.
The 25 looks served as the introduction to the Mixy Dy brand: global, on-the-go and transformable. She seamlessly fused contrasting concepts — soft and rough textures, light and heavy fabrics, and even formal and casual details — sometimes in a single piece, a unique talent that was not lost on her mentor, Philippine fashion industry stalwart Joey Espino.
Mixy’s design aesthetic most likely springs from her impressive credentials. She graduated with the highest honors at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, one of the most prestigious fashion schools in the world. With plans of pursuing her studies at Central Saint Martins in London, Mixy appears to be steadfastly committed to the realm of fashion design — from her innovative way of catering to clients to the enhancement of her skills and knowledge on the art.
“One of my strengths as a designer is really my keen understanding of textiles,” she says. It’s a skill she must have picked up during a paid internship at Kate Spade’s textile department back in New York. This is apparent in the way Mixy mixes and matches fabrics to create depth in layers and manipulates these into creating transformable pieces. And this is the same skill that allows her to showcase her custom prints on different textures to produce varying effects.
One marvels at how creating clothes and dressing other people were not her childhood dream. “Up until I was studying Advertising and Public Relations at Assumption College, I couldn’t draw to save my life,” Mixy laughingly admits. So, when she enrolled at FIT, she did not expect to get in — much less graduate as magna cum laude.
It was Mixy’s intrinsic artistry, coupled with her dedication, that led her to rise above her classmates, and it’s these things that help pave her path in the fashion world.
“I really made sure to focus on my studies when I was at FIT,” she shares, recalling how she’d miss out on her friends’ birthdays and how she’d stay in the campus up to the wee hours of the morning just to finish projects.
Education from a prestigious fashion school and training under a famous American lifestyle brand may have bolstered Mixy’s foundation, but her non-fashion related experiences likewise helped mold her as a designer. An avid traveler, Mixy learned what she could from her appreciation of different countries and cultures.
Still, Mixy is excited about going to London to study. “It’s really different from New York. I’m hoping to improve my techniques and who knows, I might instill a bit of London’s more experimental edge or its refined royal touches in my designs,” she says.
Mixy Dy is very much a label of and for the woman of today: multifaceted, global and stylish. From her clothes’ wearability to the way she caters to clients — allowing you to own a custom piece without having to travel to her atelier — Mixy meets the needs and wants of her market.
“I’ve got my own aesthetic to my designs, of course, and because there are many designers out there and only so many ways to clothe someone, I make sure to inject my own touch,” she asserts.
It’s this magic touch that has drawn the attention of the local fashion scene and will propel Mixy to greater heights in no time. For now, it’s all about learning more and improving her craft — and paying her dues in the fashion world. (You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com.)