Amid another sizzling summer comes a series of fashion shows designed to turn up the heat.
Bench, the lifestyle and apparel brand, is holding Bench Fashion Week (BFW) at its building in Taguig this weekend. The invitation-only event will feature seven brands and five designers from March 9 to 11.
Local brands Bench, Human and Kashieca will showcase their summer “see now, buy now” collections.
New on the calendar are British brand Karen Millen and multibrand Assembly.
“Aside from the shows, the runway collections will be available in a pop-up space at the newly opened Bench Flagship Store on Bonifacio High Street,” Bench creative consultant and fashion stylist Noel Manapat said. “This season, BFW will have both a show and sell component.”
Returning to the BFW runway after their Tokyo Fashion Week debut are the winners of the Bench Design Awards: Jenni Contreras (Problem Studios), RJ Santos (Randolf Clothing) and Jaggy Glarino (Jaggy).
Designer Vania Romoff will open the show this afternoon, followed by the newest looks from Vero Moda, Karen Millen and Kashieca.
On March 10, the winners of the first Bench Fashion Awards will present their collections after the brands American Eagle Outfitters and Human.
Bolder approach
Designer Joey Samson will close BFW on March 11. The newest looks from Assembly and Bench will also be presented on that day.
Samson, whose tailored collection for men and women was presented at last year’s Red Charity Gala, told Lifestyle he would be “rekindling his love for and love affair with classic menswear, tailoring and sportswear.”
The designer said that for this collection, he would be taking a bolder approach to proportion by “dimming the definition and lines of specific garments” and mixing elements and reshuffling looks, resulting in new, gender-free hybrids.”
He will be fusing traditional suiting fabrics and patterns (pinstripes, plaids, checks and houndstooth) with athletic detailing (sporty stripes, shirts over track pants or tracksuit-like tops layered with tailored tops).
