After the successful release of the first Pinoy Cartoonist Memorabilia collection featuring the work of local comic strip legend Larry Alcala, Solo is back with another big dose of Pinoy greatness.

The new Cartoonist Memorabilia collection features Kenkoy, the beloved character created by Tony Velasquez in 1929 for Liwayway magazine. “Our initial Solo Cartoonist Memorabilia featuring Larry Alcala got very good reception, so we thought, why not share the works of the Father of Philippine Cartoons who started it all?” said Sheree Gotuaco, chief executive officer of Elite Garments, the company behind the brands Solo, Freeway, Ensemble, and Twenty-two B.C.

“Tony Velasquez’s work was really special. He was the first, and he opened the gate for more Filipino cartoonists. He coined the word ‘Kenkoy,’ a term that has become popular in Pinoy lingo.”

The Kenkoy collection features shirts, dresses, shorts, necklaces, watches and more. Sheree’s favorites include “the his and hers graphic tees, the crop top tees, the vanity kits, and the neckpieces which are always popular.”

Vintage-themed

You can see key pieces from the collection in Solo’s vintage-themed photo shoot. “Since Kenkoy was most popular in the ’40s, we decided to use the ’40s as our theme for the shoot. It was really nice to blend the old and the new and to see how icons from the past can be reinvented to fit today’s pop culture.”

The shoot features Jaggy Tallada and Jhonna Flor, winners of Solo’s 2010 Online Model Search (to find out how to join this year’s search, visit www.solo.com.ph/modelsearch2011).

Tony Velasquez passed away in 1997 when he was 86 years old. But his legacy lives on in the images of the charming Kenkoy, and now in Solo’s pieces of wearable art.

The collection is now available in all Solo stores. Visit www.solo.com.ph, find Solo on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mySoloOnline) or follow the brand on Twitter (@MySoloOnline).