Bench Fashion Week (BFW) Summer 2024 (March 8-10, 2024) was a breath of fresh air in a local fashion scene that swings only from one extreme end to another, from the ultra-extravagant and uber-luxury to the ordinary. BFW presented two designers, in their significant debuts, whose collections were fresh and out-of-the-box thinking: Gabbie Sarenas and Jo Ann Bitagcol.
Top fashion model-turned-photographer Bitagcol presented her first runway collection. This multi-hyphenate woman is adding yet another expertise to her name, fashion design. And she succeeds.
Sarenas surprised yet again by adding iteration to her design DNA that has already a niche clientele—monochromatic ecru and clean, feminine layering.
What was notable about Sarenas and Bitagcol was how they adhered to their design aesthetic, seemingly unswayed by trends and resisting the temptation to shock and stun. We admire such sense of integrity. And we as well admire Ben Chan, the retail visionary behind the Bench Group, for scouting such talent and nurturing it; it’s not common these days, given the peripatetic performance of lifestyle brands here and abroad, to put your money where your belief is. Chan really makes good his brand’s battlecry of #lovelocal.
And year after year, this has been evident in Bench Fashion Week, which is always a crowd-drawer at Bench Tower in Taguig City.
Sarenas, who even in her youth did well in design awards, starting with Inquirer Lifestyle’s LOOK Awards years ago, is one fashion designer who knows how to use a collection to tell a narrative. Always, her narrative is inspired by Filipino culture and beliefs system. It was Alamat, for instance, years ago. This year it is Tanan (elope)— in the older Filipino generations, young couples eloped to flee authoritarian parents who made suitors of their daughters go through the wringer. Sarenas infused Tanan with a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality on one hand, and on the other, with a need for ease, flexibility, practicality—one couldn’t bring a full wardrobe in one’s elopement, and certainly nothing elaborate nor extravagant.
Therefore, Sarenas’ Tanan was in monochromatic ecru—“anti-color,” Sarenas describes it—hand-dyed to tea color, in silk linen, gauze, organza and bridal tulle, with dainty hand embroidery placed sparingly and strategically.
Sarenas was adept and skillful in layering—outer blouses, tunics over gossamer pants, for instance—without creating bulk and cumbersome volume. Her layering didn’t drown the woman’s body; it kept the look light and dainty. The result was a feminine, wispy look, and more important, so contemporary and young.
Sarenas built on her signature strength—youthful, contemporary Filipiniana vibe.
Bitagcol brought something to the Philippine fashion design table
BFW saw the birth of Jo Ann Bitagcol the fashion designer. Bitagcol stuck to her point of view: Filipino culture imagery. She became known for scarves with photograph imprints of Filipino images, which she now brought over to her clothes, only this time, she introduced her signature look of loose silhouettes, mannish chic, relaxed fit—and most important, creative layering. Nearly androgynous, they fell draped away from the body, combining eye-grabbing graphics with astute layering.
These are clothes that you expect Bitagcol to be wearing herself—that’s how she stuck to her design DNA. Now, if only you had her long legs and torso, you wish.
It is noteworthy her first collection championed her design statement. She brought something to the Filipino fashion design table.
Rhett Eala is in a league all his own
The three-day BFW drew crowds to the collections of Filipino fashion stalwarts Rhett Eala and Joey Samson.
Eala, who presented his RTW Kashieca line, is in a league all his own today. He has not only proved his marketability but also an aesthetic that relates to a demographic so wide he is surely envied by his peers—from the Boomers to the GenZs, from the ladies who lunch to corporate women, who want the practical chic vibe in their official events, to fashion adventurers who love to mix and match.
Eala has perfected the template for Filipino RTW.
Ben Chan’s support for him is well deserved. For the Kashieca runway, he rolled out day-to-night separates highlighted by ball skirts in rich fabrics. The collection spoke to women who need a wardrobe that takes them from a working day to glam cocktails and dinners—at reasonable price points.
Nicolo Perez is a designer to watch—a skilled hand at construction and tailoring, a penchant for detailing (e.g. zigzag stitches), a joyful aesthetic (florals; how he departs from the angst of his generation), a sense of restraint. This restrained hand was what we found notable in one quite relatively young.
The Ngok collection is sheer minimalism informed by a narrative. The designer’s bout with anxiety is turned into a design journey. We can’t wait to see how this journey further unfolds.
Francine Diaz for Bench
Ruru Madrid for Bench
URBAN REVIVO
BFW presented Bench’s strong brands: Bench, Human, Le Vie En Rose, Urban Revivo, Cotton On, Human.
Joey Samson
On Day 3, Joey Samson proved how he is one creative genius who doesn’t bank on past winning collections. He has no fear of uncharted design routes. That was so obvious in the BFW. He showed designs that he said evoked his imaginative “Secret Garden,” and we wondered, where did that idea strike him because we didn’t see it coming. He didn’t repeat the past.
It comes as no surprise to us when fashion observers hail Samson as the best designer of his generation
He continued to prove his mastery of deconstruction and reconstruction, and classic tailoring. Colors took a backseat to the beauty of construction. His silhouettes were oddly shaped (cocoon, ovoid). His fabrics and their mix had a wide range—wool, tulle, jacquard, metallic lame, Swiss organdy, cotton, checks and plaids, silk and pina. His colors (and non-color white) followed a highly defined spectrum: off white, khaki, camel, ochre, metallic free, pastel and midnight blues, blue green, olive and military green.
The master of classic tailoring showed off corsetry, pannier skirt, with hand embroidery, handmade silk and organdy flowers.
It comes as no surprise to us when fashion observers hail Samson as the best designer of his generation, especially when it comes to tailoring, construction.
Joey Samson’s collection, as always, was sophisticated, fashion-forward without being pretentious. It was the creation of a mind rich in the knowledge of fashion. What is notable is that an RTW brand like Bench is giving people access to such creative genius.
