Enlightenment, in a knitted dress
Jerome Lorico’s latest collection, Aurora A/W 2011, takes its inspiration from the people awaiting the arrival of the Aurora Borealis. “It’s not about the lights, actually,” says Lorico. “It’s more on the people who are waiting in long periods of darkness. They are the men and women who share the same sentiments of waiting for the light. Symbolically speaking, they are actually waiting for enlightenment.”
These people who seek a sense of enlightenment wear only black—at least this may be observed as Lorico showcased his all-black pieces at the recent ongoing series of Fashion Watch 2011 at the Makati Shangri-La hotel. “The look of my collection is progressive, with sub-linear shapes and linear silhouettes,” says Lorico of his collection that mostly consists of textured knitwear fashioned out of a fabric hybrid of piña and cotton rendered through surface draping. He also utilized a pointelle style, which resulted in some pieces having a crocheted net effect.
For women, Lorico showed easy to wear, knitted, black dresses with intricate details such as knots, curves, and origami folding. The dresses are seemingly best worn minimalist style (with sheer black stockings and black leather heels, and no ostentatious accessories), as seen in the show. There were also mini tube dresses which can be worn with a fringed, knitted jacket cinched with a leather obi belt.
As for menswear, Lorico decided to keep men’s pants simple (save for a few that have side flaps, which give off a merman on land look) and be more experimental with tops. His knitted, long-sleeved tops look light and most of them are encased, too, in a number of knots and folds that lend an armor-like effect. He also showed some suit sets and versatile office attires which are topped with jackets either knitted or crafted from cotton fringes. Accessories included leather shoes with weaved detail overlay, woven fedoras with leather straps, and a sling bag.
Through his collection, Lorico hopes to cast light on the potential of Philippine fashion in an international scale. “I want the audience to feel and know that our local craftsmanship can also make it globally,” he says. “Even if our materials are limited and our machineries sometimes are not updated or advanced, we can still make it. Our ability to think of a concept and to make it happen is definitely something worthwhile. I want them (the audience) to be surprised that these designs can also be done here in the Philippines. I also want to make a collection that would not limit itself to the market of Manila. I want other markets to feel receptive to my collection.” Lorico seems to illustrate his points concretely, as some of his pieces already earned valuable notice during the Men’s Fashion Week 2011 in Singapore and the 48th Japan Fashion Design Contest in Tokyo last year. - Article courtesy of Manila Bulletin.
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