I'm so used to having a routine during weekdays that not having one on weekends sometimes drove me to bouts of insanity. So when I saw DFW's (Designer Fashion Workshop under iAcademy) workshop details at manilafashionobserver.blogspot.com, I immediately thought of joining.
The workshop would be under Noel Manapat, a name that was unfamiliar to me and one that did not return many results in Google. I went through with the class, though, basing my decision on the famous name of the other mentors, who included Jojie Lloren, Inno Sotto and Lulu Tan-Gan among others. (I would eventually find out that styling-wise, Noel is of the same calibre as those mentioned.)
The workshop consisted of 8 Saturday afternoon sessions that ran from September to November. Classes were often hands-on and held outside of the school and went beyond the allotted 2-hour schedule so a flexible schedule was a must to make the most out of this class.
These are some of the highlights of our 8-week session.
Randy Ortiz for Kashieca Luxe Fashion Show at Greenbelt 5
Backstage at the Randy Ortiz for Kashieca Luxe fashion show which was teeming with models and familiar faces. Fashion shows like these often occurred after the 3 to 530 schedule. I often stayed behind with a couple of classmates to "help" dress the models, but more than 50% of the stylist's work was done days or weeks before the actual show.
Models posing with Randy Ortiz backstage. The show churned out 90 (!) looks but my favorite would have to be the colored dress on a pair of different colored tights.
Furne One Show at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La Hotel
Noel was the stylist for the Furne One show so we got to tag along to this show as well. Although I'm not a fan of romantic, overly embellished dresses, I liked how the models were transformed to look like fierce Amazon women with their chunky 5-inch, knee-high, lace-up wedges and over-the-top headdresses. (Click here for pictures from the show.)
One of the more than 50 pieces of Furne One dresses which were flew in from Dubai just for the show. The intricate beadwork was evident in the stiffness and the weight of each piece, which, based on my estimate, would be around more than 10 pounds per dress.
Individual Projects: The New Minimalist
Each student had to come up with a white shirt idea that would fall under the new minimalist theme. The models, photographer and schedule were arranged by DFW and Noel, but we had to provide the clothes for our own ideas. Model-slash-photographer Joan Bitagcol did the photo shoot at her studio near Rockwell, and the model assigned to me was Ornussa Cadness.
My idea for this shoot was comfortable cool. I dug into Queen J's collection of goodies from the '90s (gasp!) for the bottoms to use for this shoot since she's as thin as should be legally allowed. The rest I picked up from inside my closet, and this was what I came up with: Mango cardigan, Zara button-down shirt, Esprit scarf, and Bossini high-waisted hotpants. The tights were Mom's from the '80s (double gasp!), and the shoes were Ornussa's. I wasn't prepared at all for this project. If Ornussa weren't wearing here own oxfords I would have a shoeless model posing for a whole-body shot.
My original idea was a running pose, but I was the last to arrive at the studio and this had been done already, plus Joan and Noel didn't think it was the best choice for my look. Anyway, this was one of my favorite poses of Ornussa. After the prints came out, we were asked what we would have done differently, if any. I think that I would have pushed through with the same look but if time and resources allowed, I would have brought more pieces with me in shades of light brown because even though no two pieces in this outfit were of the same color, they all looked rather washed-out in the picture.
A summary of everyone's work. Funny how each project reflected each one's personality.
Graduation day, receiving our certificates from Noel Manapat.
This is DFW's Jan to March schedule. Receive 15% off of classes when you sign up by November, that's tomorrow!
Overall, it's been a fun experience that brought me to many different places I wouldn't have been in if I didn't sign up for the class. A few of the opportunities that I missed were some of the major ones too such as Philippine Fashion Week (I could have secured tickets to shows by SM, F&H and Cesar Gaupo) and Inno Sotto's recent show.
That's it for my stint as a student of fashion. The question lingers, of course, why take a styling class instead of, say, a language or cooking class. I took this class not because I want to become a stylist, the lack of a day-to-day routine and the absence of a steady source of income (at the start if lucky) are enough to push me over the edge, but because I love to shop and I'm good at finding little knickknacks here and there, so I think I may have a future as a personal shopper, for part of the time at least, weekends maybe? But until someone decides to pay me for my services, I will be shopping the normal way, that is for myself. After all, it's almost Christmas and there are still tons of items to be crossed off my Christmas shopping list.
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