Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
With the fascination of young Filipino fashion designers to mimic global designers suchImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
as Zuhair Murad, Yohji Yamamoto and John Gulliano, Germany-based Filipina artist-designer Joyce Peñas Pilarsky does the exact opposite by returning to the exemplars of her roots.
Pilarsky undertook this by looking back and taking inspiration from the doyens of Philippine fashion, National Artist Ramon Valera, Jose “Pitoy” and Ben Farrales who evolved the Filipino formal wear to what it is now and she intends to contribute her part.
Michael Cinco dressed Jennifer Lopez in a body hugger with Swaroski-patterned tribal design for the opening number of the American Music Awards in November complete with dancers in Igorot-inspired tattoos.
Before this, Pilarsky shifted to Filipino tribal wear in October by adapting her signature floral-inspired style to contemporarize them. The synergy came up with mind-boggling designs entirely her own: fresh, innovative, fabulous, particularly Pilarsky!
This fastidiousness Pilarsky achieved by being a model, painter, philanthropist, singer, haute couture designer and book author in that order before turning MWI International Ambassador 2013, Philippine’s Best Dressed and Style Icon 2013 and Classic Mrs. Asia International Global 2014.
After she was awarded Global ARTleader of 2015 for her lead in global fashion, she graduated her Masters in Alternative Medicine at the University of Makati. She is presently taking her doctorate in the field of expertise. Then she proceeded work intensely on her Heritage Collection.
It took a creative challenge for Pilarsky to exhale this creative genius. Selected as one of the 12 finalists in the Fashion Design category of the prestigious 2015 Los Angeles Fashion Week Design Competition held on Oct. 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA, she went all out in inspiration and perspiration, producing a never-before-seen collection.
This annual design competition is a platform for creative minds to give exposure, visibility, support and a voice to amazing talents from around the world. The three Design categories are broken into Hair Design, Make-up Artistry and Fashion Design. Some of fashion’s notable insiders select the 12 finalists in each category. These finalists are given their very own runway show during Los Angeles Fashion week.
With her Heritage Collection, Pilarsky went all out to put on the runway only her best. This involved going to the National Museum of the Filipino People for designs and materials research. Then she proceed to source materials that involved travels to various parts of the country before doing the actual designs.
Pilarsky showcased an 18-piece ethnic-inspired collection of formal wear consisting of cocktail dresses, gowns and male wear that features her interpretations of the various ethic wear of the Philippines. Using natural fabrics from the Philippines, specifically Zamboanga. She sourced jusi, piña, tinalak, abel Iloko and silk gazar from indigenous weavers she supports.
This earth-friendliness and sustainability, the use of organic, hand-woven yet practical materials, makes it an important direction in the time of climate change threat.
A masterful yet unexpected blend of the traditional and contemporary of patterned gowns and male wear that exude unmistakable sexiness, particularly Igorot and Muslim silhouettes, sometimes using high technology to radiate luxury and confidence that sets new standards for Filipino fashion and global trend.
Imagine the barong Tagalog in yellow piña with an unheard-of hoodie, giving it extra dimension on the collar and shoulders while retaining its basic form in the sleeves and body. While unmistakably a barong Tagalog, it surprisingly stays wearable and masculine!
To expose the male torso and its glorious abs, Pilarsky used hanging jackets and low-cut pants made of striped silk and cotton which are really ethnic-inspired. A lookback to Philippine history recalls the datus of pre-history or the warriors of the highlands.
Pilarsky achieved the tattoo effect with the master improvisation of the laser cut on black silk gazar. She even did the wonderful experimentation of using it on white fabric. What comes out is an unobtrusive fool-the-eye that comes fashionable as well.
She also played with the male body versus natural fabrics by putting vinyl-like silk gazar against abel iloko — synthetic versus natural. A low crouch pants is a showstopper on first glance, but the dualities in each garment call for double and even triple takes to truly comprehend.
Pilarsky spinned on female formal wear in two-fold: sweet-and-pretty cocktail dresses with opera coats and sweet-and-sexy, worn as a gown peeping into a sheer lace skirt or as a cropped top over a half-sheer skirt.
Pilarsky then turned all her ethnic influences into the idea of beautiful animist gown with a tribal headdress in a finale number detailed with rainbow striped prints with appliquéd ornate floral patterns. Just the sort of thing a woman with life experience, beauty and intelligence would wear.
Wonderfully, Pilarsky allowed the natural pattern of the skins to shine through, using her designs to make it more beautiful, to tempt a gaze, a bait to appreciate. Regardless, coats teased, allowing a peek-a-boo.
Upon scrutiny, Pilarsky’s maximalist design strategy follows the tradition of ethnic weavers who embroider every available space with nature motifs like plants, animals and mountains, its abundance referring to growth and fertility. This makes Pilarsky’s designs truly Filipino in character and spirit.
By following the wear’s traditional cuts combined with impeccable styling in luxurious fabrics, the visual appeal is clearly Filipino. The Heritage Collection turned out an outstanding reinterpretation of Filipino formal wear with a classic-contemporary edge in flawless execution.
There wasn’t anything particularly revolutionary about these formal wear except that they are strikingly beautiful (and beautifully done), and evoked a kind of exotic glamor.
Pilarsky’s Heritage Collection held its own for originality and visual impact that it got the judges unanimous nod for the grand prize.
This win caps for Pilarsky another banner year. This is a back-to-back win for the Philippines as Veejay Floresca won the same award in 2014, making it the second grand prize won by a Filipino on the annual competition.
Pilarsky bested all in this head-to-head competition. With the winners in the Hair Design and Make-Up Artistry categories, she received a plaque, a prize package valued at $2,000 and a four-page spread in Nickii Jean magazine.
From Los Angeles, Pilarsky proceeded to New York for the Fashion Week Brooklyn Spring Summer 2016 where she presented a version of the Heritage Collection in candy colors. And then she was London-bound where she joined young British designers in a charity fashion show to raise awareness of the Angelman Syndrome. As if that’s not enough accomplishment, she was also invited to juror the Best Young Artist.