One of the ways art has become more accessible is through fashion, or what is called wearable art.
Many of these, especially the handwork variety, may not be for the faint of heart, but imagine the possibilities for the daily wardrobe.
Heavily embellished or accessorized, a hand-painted frock could be an evening look. Transform it to daywear by wearing with brogues, flatforms or sandals which have become popular on recent fashion runways for their ability to tone down very elegant, ornate or feminine clothes.
In the local industry, one fashion label with a significant contribution to the wearable-art trend is Freeway, which celebrates Filipino artistry by creating limited-edition apparel inspired by the work of National Artists.
Dubbed National Artist Collectors’ Series, the collections have already featured Nick Joaquin, National Artist for Literature; Ang Kiukok (Visual Arts); José Garcia-Villa (Literature); Ramon Valera (Fashion); F. Sionil José (Literature); Vicente Manansala (Visual Arts); Levi Celerio (Music); Botong Francisco (Visual Arts); Lucio San Pedro (Music); and Juan Luna (Visual Arts).
The latest collaboration is with National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera.
The poet-librettist-scholar’s writing is very descriptive and conjures scenic images of gardens, flowers and waves, says Dian de la Cruz, fashion marketing executive of Elite Garments International Inc., which distributes Freeway as well as sister labels Solo, Ensembles and 22BC.
“We looked for possible options for combining and giving justice to Lumbera’s beautiful words while keeping it current and fashionable… and ended up with prints of mosaics and dainty sketch-like florals,” De la Cruz explains about the collection’s aesthetic and design.
The Freeway-Lumbera collection consists of over a dozen pieces, including an iPad sleeve, with dresses and blouses available in XS-XL sizes and tees up to XXL sizes.
Sculptural quality
Among independent brands, there is copper accessories designer Ming Ong-Moya’s Kathang Kamay and OBRA by Kathang Kamay. These offer unique costume jewelry, hand-painted accessories and repurposed apparel.
Moya fashions diverse and unique pieces using copper, resin, fabrics, semiprecious stones, industrial and unconventional materials like PVC plastic.
Moya’s technique endows a sculptural quality to her designs, from rings, earrings, arm cuffs and necklace bibs to belts, fascinators, brooches, peineta, evening bags and minaudieres. No two pieces are exactly the same.
Kathang Kamay accessories have a transformative element as well, such that the wearer can adjust pieces to her size, or use a certain item several ways.
On this page are Freeway and Kathang Kamay pieces combined with items from our own closets, to prove wearable art can be versatile and adapted to one’s sartorial needs.
Arts-inspired fashion could not only beef up a wardrobe in style and function but, in the long run, become valuable collectibles, too.
Freeway and other brands under Elite Garments International Inc. are available at The Row, 1/F, Glorietta 1, Ayala Center, Makati, tel. 7286746, as well as in major shopping centers in Metro Manila. Visit freewayonline.com.ph.
Visit the Facebook page Kathang Kamay and OBRA by Kathang Kamay. Contact Ming Ong-Moya at 0908-8870723.