Clare Henney: My Fashion Week Experience

I felt like Cinderella going to the ball with the help of my fairy godmother. Difference is in this case, my fairy godmother was my sister and the ball was a fashion show that had no prince charming in sight — unless you count the male models with their exposed abs. As I mentioned in a previous entry, I got an invite to attend the fashion show of a friend of mine for Philippine Fashion Week.  Being the non-fashionista that I am (as can be seen by my loose jeans and t-shirt getup), I needed my sister’s help to buy something to wear for the event because I had nothing in my closet but casual wear.  It was my first time in a long time to get dolled up for a social event not related to work so it really felt like I was Cinderella going to the ball because of the transformation.  At first, I was a bit uncomfortable being dressed up. I kept thinking I was overdressed.  When I got to the venue however I realized that people were even more dressed up than I was so I finally felt comfortable with what I had on. The fashion show I attended was for the Holiday Collections of Avel Bacudio, Chris Diaz, Eric Delos Santos and Raoul Ramirez.  I will reserve comments on the designs of each designer for another entry.  I think it deserves a separate post.  What I will say though is that the collections that I saw had black as a base color and were then splashed with reds, shades of purple, silver/gray then dark yellow and gold.  There was a lot of sheer and lacy outfits as well as metallic and shiny accents/themes.  Plus a lot of fur — although I hope that they were mostly faux fur.  There was some suede too, if I’m not mistaken. It was a night full of beautiful clothes and beautiful people on and off the catwalk.  I saw Marc Nelson, Ricardo Cepeda and international designer Michael Cinco in the audience as well as model/actress Angel Jacob (at least I think it was her).  Wilma Doesn’t, Joey Mead and Marina Benipayo on the other hand graced the catwalk for the show. Of course, there were a lot of the fashion insiders who were present as well.  My sister couldn’t stop naming and pointing some fashion bloggers and magazine people who she looked up to.  She had interned for a fashion magazine so she really knew the who’s who in local fashion.  She was actually the reason I wanted to go to this show.  I had to grab the invite because I know how much she loves fashion so this was something that she would enjoy — and she did!  We went to the show with her supportive boyfriend, who allowed himself to be styled by my sister for that night. As for me, it was a great time to get out of my comfort zone for a change and try getting glammed up after years in what I’d like to call “‘Losyang Limbo.”  I can now cross out watching a fashion show from my bucket list (I’ve been to a show or two, but mostly behind the scenes and they were never for fashion week).  It was also wonderful to see some old friends, one of which I hugged on impulse because I haven’t seen him in almost 14 years.  I was also surprised to see a college schoolmate walking down the catwalk. I remember he used to model back in the day and he told me that he was going back to it. Of course, the night would not have been complete if I didn’t say hi to the reason why I got the invites in the first place.  I was very happy to see Avel again after so long.  I will always be proud to say that I know someone so talented. Congratulations Avel on your Holiday Collection.  It was beautiful!
Photo Source (for designs): Philippine Fashion Week Live