What catches my attention about Sofia Borromeo’s brand, sophie.b, is the attention to detail. She always manages to put out a collection with clean lines, respecting the natural grain of the fabric.
It may look rather simple at first, but it comes off as elegant and intelligent.
Japan has one of the most distinguished aesthetics in the world of design—going from maximalist to minimalist, employing characters and clean geometric shapes. It is no wonder countless designers cull inspiration from the Japanese.
Borromeo joins the list with her Japanese-inspired collection called “Texture on Texture.”
The design philosophy of Tadao Ando was one of Borromeo’s influences as a student. But for her new collection, Borromeo cites artist Yayoi Kusama and “her famous dots” as the major inspiration.
“Her dots have a beautiful sense of repetition [that] it would almost hypnotize you!” she says.
As an advocate of the “less is more” philosophy, Borromeo employs addition symbols while keeping the structure of the collection simple and structured. Borromeo’s designs materialize on piqué, which allows the design to achieve the mesmerizing effect similar to that of Kusama’s.
“Given that the fabric is so rich in content, the silhouettes need to be simple in order to complement the entire look better, and that is exactly what we did,” she says. “We put a lot of emphasis on our cuts, which is the most difficult part in the entire technical process.”
Although the collection borrows liberally from Japanese aesthetics, the signature seamless blouses that Borromeo modernized in her 2015 Maria Clara collection is still present in the new collection.
“Texture on Texture” will be available on view in a trunk show at Fairways Tower, Bonifacio Global City, on Sept. 29-Oct. 1. All trunk shows are by appointment only. E-mail sofiapborromeo@gmail.com.
Modern masculine blend
Leave it to Abercrombie & Fitch to create a scent that is ruggedly sexy. With a base of amber and musk, Szechuan pepper in the mid-notes, and gin and tonic and melon as the top notes to finish off the sensory experience, the new scent First Instinct is a modern masculine blend.
The clean bottle shape features a unique design element—an undulated surface on the front and back, with a clear glass that lets the slate hue of the fragrance come through. The silver accents in the textured utilitarian metal cap and branded plate on one side of the bottle give the packaging a strong style statement.
“I wanted to create a modern fragrance that balances both the fresh elements of fougère with oriental warmth. All the notes together create a scent with worldwide appeal for the Abercrombie & Fitch man and beyond,” said Phillippe Romano, First Instinct perfumer.