FUEL

FUEL

for the fashion-minded

SWEET SUMMER STYLES INSIDE THE APARTMENT

Meet the masterminds behind Apartment Eight’s collections

FESTIVAL FASHION

Fabulous looks inspired by music festivals

RETROMANIA

Is fashion’s obsession with the past detrimental to our future?

DEBUT ISSUE!

CONTENTS

what’s

INSIDE

3 4 5 6 8

EDITOR’S NOTE SUMMER TIPS FUEL gives you ways on how you can enjoy your summer

FASHION HISTORY A brief look at the evolution of the peplum

OPINION

Fashion’s obsession with its past, and what this could mean for our future

FASHION EDITORIAL Woodstock-inspired outfits fit for music festival season this year

18 19 24 25 26

DESIGNER PROFILE Get to know the designers of Apartment Eight Clothing

PRODUCT EDITORIAL Assorted arm accessories to spice up your summer wardrobe

EVENTS

Tommy Hilfiger’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection launch at Skye

SPECIAL FEATURES

Makati Shangri-la’s resident sommelier and his love for wine, behind the scenes at Sense & Style’s menswear shoot

BRANDS WE LOVE A profile on Coco Chanel and the Hermès brand

EDITOR’S NOTE

It’s summer once again and the incoming heat waves are also bringing in fresh new trends and activities. That’s why we’re kicking off our first-ever issue with a sizzle.

Normally, summer spells hitting the beach and basking in the sand, with the cool seawater just a few steps away. But don’t think the city will be lifeless! In other parts of the world (particularly in Indio, California) this time of the year is music festival season – where the coolest kids gather to watch the hottest bands rock it out for entire weekends. We’re happy to note that music festivals have finally landed on our shores, with Close Up Summer Solstice, Karpos Wanderland, and Cebu’s very own Lifedance. That’s why this issue’s fashion editorial pays tribute to the mother of all music festivals: Woodstock. Not only did it change the rock ‘n’ roll sphere, but it also made way for cultural expression and acceptance, as well as demonstrated how a generation could be heard. And the magic of Woodstock is still visible today, going beyond music and venturing into fashion, culture, and the arts.

FUEL’s debut issue is all about going back the past, in order to move forward. We’re looking at some of the hottest trends and brands, and how they evolved to become what they are today. But don’t worry about getting a boring history lesson, we’re keeping it cool. Here’s to a great summer!

Katie Chatto Editor-in-Chief

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TIPS

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ways to

SPARK & SIZZLE

this summer

ROCK OUT AT A MUSIC FESTIVAL Just because you couldn’t go to Coachella doesn’t mean you have to miss out on music festivals.

Luckily, we have our own to look forward to this summer. Attend them in style by looking through this issue’s fashion editorial for inspiration.

WORK OUT IN NEON...

Who says we can’t work out in style? Look fab while getting rid of those flabs with fun, colorful neon athletic gear.

... AND TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME CHOCOLATE MILK!

GET A PORTABLE ELECTRIC FAN The hot weather can be unbearable, and one fun way to quirk it up while staying cool would be to carry a portable electric fan, available at Japanese home stores. Plus points if you manage to get one with cartoon characters.

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Studies say this chocolate milk is the optimal post-workout drink.

Compared to most sports drinks, it has double the protein and carb content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles. Plus it’s packed with calcium, with a little bit of sodium and sugar -- perfect for regaining energy.

INVEST IN STATEMENT ACCESSORIES Statement accessories are a musthave this season, with their power to brighten up the simplest outfit.

Check out this issue’s product editorial on some fab bracelets!

TRENDS

PEPLUM

THROUGH THE AGES

Those hemline ruffles didn’t just pop out of nowhere in the last couple of years. Here’s a brief history of the beloved skirt that emphasizes the female body’s curves.

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1940s

1400s

500 BC

The men of the Middle Ages, particularly those in Western Europe, donned doublets and fancy jackets with hemlines that fanned out in a downward V-shape from the waist to the hips. This was supposed to provide men with a more desirable shape.

The peplum grew very popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It lit up those barren times of Paris being at war, and it flourished after war for the sake of the USA’s housewives.

Peplum has again become popular, springing from dresses, jackets and pants, thanks to highend designers including Giorgio Armani, Celine and Jason Wu and mainstream retailers like H&M.

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The name ‘peplum’ had originated from the Ancient Greek word peplos, a body-length garment typically worn by women during the period. The garment was then gathered about the waist and the folded top edge pinned over the shoulders.

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TODAY

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1980s

Peplum styles of the 80s were accompanied by big shoulder pads, popularized by designers including Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler. Television audiences were treated to the peplum craze on prime-time soap operas like “Dallas” and “Falcon Crest.”

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OPINION

FASHION NOSTALGIA Over the years, we’ve seen designers revive trends from the previous decades. Is fashion's love affair with the past detrimental to our future?

RETROMANIA (n.): refers to a self-cannibalising, self-indulgent obsession with one’s recent past.

M

y first glimpse of Louis Vuitton’s spring/ummer 2013 collection was when Preview showed off a photo featuring Andi Eigenmann clad in their mod-inspired checkerboard suit. The ‘60s have made a comeback. And how often have we said that in the past seasons? The ‘80s made a comeback last year. The ‘70s resurrected sometime in 2011. The ‘20s are back. Marc Jacobs, for one, is famous for his constant reinvention of the past decades – evident in both his namesake line and in Louis Vuitton. Just recently, Banana Republic released a collection that paid homage to TV series “Mad Men,” from the snazzy three-piece suits to the prim and proper 1950s housewife ensemble. It seems that every designer now moves forward by looking back.

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Music writer Simon Reynolds calls this phenomenon Retromania, and has written a book about pop culture’s addiction to its own past.

Though his discussion revolves mostly around music, Reynolds briefly touches on fashion, naming 1965 as the pinnacle of newness and nowness. “After that high point, postmodernist-like techniques of pastiche and recycling began to take effect in fashion many years before they would appear in pop music,” he wrote.

This penchant for the past has been examined in the form of films, as well: Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and, more recently, Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion features protagonists who are obsessed with the past.

This then begs the following questions: Where have all the new ideas gone? Has fashion’s creative well run dry? Are we to expect nothing more than re-inventions, re-hashes, re-somethings from fashion in the coming seasons?

But then again, is looking back to the past necessarily a bad thing?

Where have all the new ideas gone?

Has fashion’s creative well run dry?

One of the challenges faced by fashion designers is striking a balance between what’s new and what’s familiar enough to attract their target audience. Michael Kors claimed that to create “universally wearable wares” one needs to make clothes that other people have worn before: “If a look reminds you of Kate Moss at Glastonbury, that’s a good thing. If something makes

you think of Ryan O’Neal kissing Ali McGraw in Love Story? Great!

The best things we buy flatter us in some way.”

Perhaps we should consider that the reason today’s designers look back to the past is that these things have worked before. This Retromania could leave us wondering,

garments. The original may be drowned out by the resurrected.

Think of the harem pants, which trended not so long ago. They were big in the ‘80s, but many of us think that this was a completely new style (save for those who were actually there during the ‘80s).

Fashion is a constant reinvention.

Musicians listen to their favorite

Perhaps we should consider that the reason today’s designers look back to the past is that these things have worked before.

“What would our generation be remembered for?” the way the ‘50s were remembered for poofy skirts, or the ‘70s for bell bottom pants and the disco look. Think about it this way – did the people from the ‘50s know their signature looks then? It’s difficult to define our generation’s style today, because, as with many other things, distance is needed to see it clearly.

The other issue may be that, with Retromania, a self-cannibalism could occur, causing us to forget the history of certain trends and

bands’ influences, and then their influences, in order to get a deeper understanding of the sound. In the same way, designers (or anyone in fashion, for that matter) should familiarize themselves with the histories of their favorite styles, in order to get a deeper understanding of the look and move forward with their own. □ Vintage fashion has taken over swimwear as well. This summer’s hottest pieces include 40’s-style silhouettes, with pinafore-like halters and highwaist shorts.

They may feel familiar, like we’ve seen them before, but not quite. And maybe that’s what makes them work. Here are some of our favorite vintage looks from the Spring/Summer 2013 runway:

Marc Jacobs

Louis Vuitton

Jason Wu FUEL

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

taking

woodstock 

Music festivals have finally landed on our shores, with the Close Up Summer Solstice, PULP Summer Slam, and Karpos Wanderland just right around the corner. FUEL pays homage to the mother of all music festivals -- 1969’s Woodstock -- where a revolution erupted, both in music and fashion.

Model: KYLIE VERZOSA Photography by KEVIN CAYUCA Styling by MIA CRESPO Hair & Makeup by ZEH BOMBAIS Direction by KATIE CHATTO 8

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ORANGE YOU GLAD?

Bright colors and florals instantly spell “summer.”

Floral button-down, LOVELACE CLOTHING Shorts, UNIQLO

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JOIN THE TRIBE

Tribal prints showed affinity with the moniroty, promoting love and peaceacross cultures.

Tribal corset top, LOVELACE CLOTHING Denim vest, LOVELACE CLOTHINGt

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LACE-Y DAYS

Lace crop tops are summer fashion’s best friends: they keep that feminine look while serving as appropriate attire for the heat.

Lace crop top, LOVELACE CLOTHING Sandals, CHARLES & KEITH

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THE FEMININE AVIATOR

The lines between male and female fashion have begun to blur, with women sporting manlier sunglasses.

Pink corset top, LOVELACE CLOTHING

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CLOSE TO NATURE

Floral and animal prints, as well as floral accessories, give summer outfits a very organic feel.

Floral corset crop top, LOVELACE CLOTHING Shorts, UNIQLO

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DESIGNER PROFILE

Inside the Apartment

Will the real Blair, Katy, and Paris please stand up? FUEL steps inside the apartment for a little chat with the designers behind the popular clothing brand.

E

rnest Lingad, Chow Resurrecion, and Josh Buenaflor are three different people with one shared passion: designing clothes.

Each of them have traveled their own paths and have brought their own design strengths into Apartment Eight, making it one of the most sought-after local brands worn by the most stylish bloggers and celebrities.

Ernest knew he had an eye for fashion ever since he was a kid.

His family members would always consult him when it came to dressing up. But for practicality's sake, he took up Nursing in college. "I realized when I entered college," he recalls, "I wanted to be in the creative field." Ernest isn't one to enjoy the constant following of rules and standard protocols, a non-negotiable for Nursing students who have people's lives in their hands. At that moment, he knew he wanted to be a designer. "Wala kang binabaling rules; you have your own -- kung paano mo gustong mag-create,

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ma-express yung feelings mo [You don't bend any rules; you have your own -- how you want to create, how you want to express your feelings]." So, he shelved those nursing books and studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines.

ing. "Becoming a fashion designer has always been my dream. I just never thought it would come true."

Quiet and demure Josh has been drawing dresses since she was nine.

By the time she was in high school, her peers had taken notice of her

‘Becoming a fashion designer has always been my dream. I just never thought it would come true.’

Chow's story isn't so far off. "I’ve always wanted to become a fashion designer ever since I can remember," she recounts. "But after graduating from Miriam College High School, my parents wanted me to take up Nursing since it was the 'trend' course during my time."

After one year of Nursing, she was certain her heart belonged only to fashion, and decided to pursue her dream at the De La Salle College of St. Benilde, with a degree in Fashion Design and Merchandis-

keen eye for fashion and asked her to design their team jerseys. On her senior year, she stumbled upon the School of Fashion and the Arts and was immediately attracted. It was at that moment when she knew that designing clothes for a living was an actual possibility.

A little ways down the road, these three designers came together at Apartment Eight Clothing, and were each assigned an identity suited for their design aesthetic. (cont’d on page 27)

Accessories have the power to make the simplest outfits more interesting and beautiful. Gold Lock Army’s summer collection features assorted bracelets that can spice up your look any way you want it.

Photos by KAY ISABEDRA

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ROYAL FAMILY

White cross with rustic gold chain, scripture pendant with rustic gold chain, mini gold chain with offwhite suede, gold chain with white crystals and beige string

ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Blue Buddha beads with plastic gold beads and gold sand-textured balls, gold buckle with royal blue nylon cord, blue green Agate beads with gold spikes, plain gold chain link, abstract blue and green Buddha beads

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MIDNIGHT PEARL Midnight blue and blue-black Majorica pearls, woven chrome chain, black cross with rustic gold chain

NIGHT ROCK

Glittered black strap, small midnight blue pearls, woven chrome chain, large midnight blue pearls, chrome chain

METEOR SHOWER

White cross with silver chain, black Buddha beads with special-cut chrome balls and meteor ball, plain silver chain link, small black Buddha beads with silver spikes

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JUNGLE

XS brown and gold plastic beads, brown sandstone beads with sand-textured gold balls, light brown wood beads, brown sandstone beads with gold spikes, brown abstract wood beads

BROWN SAFARI

Premium metallic orange-brown beads, gold tube with brown rope, flat gold chain, small gold chain with brown suede

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GOLD FOUR-CHAIN Four layers of yellow gold chain with three layers of pink and violet tie-dyed cotton fabric

GOLD & GRAPES

Rustic gold scripture pendant with rustic gold chain, premium marble plum beads, small cross with small purple beads, black Buddha beads

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EVENTS

Tommy Hilfiger launches its Spring/Summer 2013 collection at the Skye Louge, Bonifacio High Street, with a nautical twist.

SAILING AWAY IN HILFIGER I

t’s Friday night, and The Skye Lounge at the W is not a rooftop club. The elevator doors open to reveal a transformation of the penthouse. Suddenly, Manila had disappeared. We were no longer on top of a building, in the middle of a city, in the equatorial Southeast Asia. Suddenly, we’re on a yacht en route to Nantucket, an island south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. As I plop down one of the couches, a waiter approaches to offer me an assortment of cocktails: red, white, or blue? I go for red, and do a quick scan of my surroundings. I am drowning in a sea of red, white, blue, and stripes as everyone walks around in their most nautical attire.

Raymond Gutierrez and his friends are lounging on my right. On my left, a few players from the Philip-

pine Azkals are sipping cocktails.

The band plays a cover of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” as flags blow lightly in the breeze.

The whole place makes me want to lean back, put my feet up on the table, close my eyes, and just nod my head to the beat. Unfortunately, society deems that unladylike, and would have banned me from all future social gatherings had I done so.

All of a sudden, the preppiest chicks and dudes saunter onto the deck nonchalantly, displaying a collection of blazers, khakis, button-downs, bermuda shorts, and sweater vests - all worthy for captains of a (very fashionable) ship.

Clearly, this is the crowd you want to be involved with. Their outfits

say it all: young A-listers who’ve attended boarding school in Connecticut, played lacrosse, or tennis, or polo at some point in their lives, spend weekends and holidays at the Hamptons where they would relax on their yachts. Very cool, very chic, very all-American.

This season, Tommy Hilfiger conquers both land and sea with his nautical-inspired collection. It’s hardly a surprise that he creates such Americana clothing — it’s practically his trademark. But what continues to make Tommy Hilfiger so remarkable, as visible in his spring/summer 2013 collection, is his ability to create looks that posess sophistication in their simplicity. □

Hilfiger up-close: models Ronald and Charlie posing for the camera.

Jessica Pamintuan, clad in head-totoe Hilfiger, lent her hosting skills Aminado set the mood of the party for the night. with cruise-worthy tunes.

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Models showcasing Tommy Hilfiger’s S/S ‘13 collection, inspired by nautical fashion.

FEATURES

The Art of Wine

M

akati Shangri-la’s sommelier, Daniel Blais, is a wine lover, and he aims to share this luxurious experience with everyone. He has so carefully mastered the art of wine drinking to a point where he has become resistant to its addictive spell, which many of us would fall under. For him, wine is never about the alcohol content. “Never drink to get drunk,” he told the Fashion Writing class of the School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA). Rather, it is about the experience it encapsulates and the ambiance it creates -- a bottle of champagne to celebrate with a romantic partner, or a glass of red wine to wind down with close friends.

Wine is not for forgetting life, but living in it.□

BEHIND THE SCENES

Sense & Style showcases a new trend for menswear this season

F

loral prints have always been associated with femininity. If not, they usually bring to mind camera-toting tourists vacationing in Hawaii. But this is 2013. These once-girly prints have steadily trickled into menswear, further blurring the boundaries between men and women's fashion. Hence, Sense & Style's menswear editorial theme -- androgyny with a touch of feminine. It shows how men can rock it out in floral prints and still look masculine. There's a saying that goes, "Tough guys wear pink". Perhaps now, the same can be said about florals.

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BRANDS WE LOVE

chanel l'amour

T

hroughout the years, the “Chanel” brand has been identified as the epitome of feminine – classy, elegant, and glamorous. But in her early days, it created something more than that. In a period of corsets and balloon skirts that confined a woman’s movement, she designed clothes that would provide both comfort and style to the woman of their modern age. As she once said, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” Thus emerged her signature outfits – the collarless blazer, the pantsuit, and the famous little black dress, among others. Coco Chanel was a revolutionary, and a feminist in her own way.

Much of Chanel’s outlook and attitude stemmed from her early days.

Born to an impoverished family and raised in a strict convent, she became inspired to pursue a radically different lifestyle. Armed with resourcefulness and the sewing skills she picked up at the convent, Chanel pioneered the use of jersey in clothing – purchased primarily for its low cost, given her precarious financial situation. The softness of the fabric, applied to Chanel’s pragmatic designs, gave women’s wear a new, more relaxed, casual look. More important, these outfits addressed the (possibly unknown) need for women to move more freely and do more activities, especially during the times of war. That’s why her designs, radical as they were at the time, resonated with women all over the world. Coco Chanel had become a style icon.

In her own way, Chanel was able to set women (including herself) free – free of the tight outfits men had designed to make women look “presentable”, free to be more proactive in society while looking elegant. With her keen sense of style and trendsetting talent, Coco Chanel helped forge the modern woman, giving her a new level of style, grace, and independence. □

A Lap of Luxury

T

he Birkin is one of the most coveted bags in the world, with a price range of about $9,000 to $150,000, depending on the material. Those bags with rare material (such as yellow crocodile skin) are rumoured to have a 5-year waiting list. While it may seem like a lot of effort and a lot of money for one bag, Hermès still stands as one of the top luxury brands today. What makes brands like Hermès so desirable?

Orders for Birkin bags can last from three weeks to five years because each one is handmade by special craftsmen hired and trained by the brand. They ensure consistent top quality with their goods, a promise evident in many luxury brands. But what makes Hermès stand out from the others is their sense of tradition imbibed in their constant reinvention: the brand’s designers are on their toes creating new designs for scarves, but they make sure these new designs have a sense of Hermès’ history in them, no matter how minute the detail. You don’t simply buy an Hermès bag, or a scarf, or a suit. You acquire a work of art, a story, carefully crafted by individuals especially for you. □

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(cont’d from page 18) Ernest comes armed with an understanding of how a garment should fall over a woman's body in order to accentuate her shape. "I'm the type who wants to exude sexiness," he says. "If you have the body, you show it, but you still leave a little bit of curiosity."He takes after his idols Aries Magat, Michael Kors, and Alexander Wang with his clean, minimalist silhouettes and detailed cuts, but Ernest's real

From there, he starts A Blair dress designed by Chow to visualize how the Resurreccion for S/S 2013 design aesthetic is very fabric fits and falls on Chow's close to her personal style, which she describes as "classy with a a woman's body. inspiration strikes once he sets eyes on the perfect fabric. "My designs come to life when I see the fabric," he says. From there, he starts to visualize how the fabric fits and falls on a woman's body. And this is what makes him perfect for Apartment Eight's Paris collection, intended for the girl who can gimmick after work and still manage to be the life of the party, the girl who can easily "grab attention, without overpowering everyone else in the room."

Katy, Paris, and Blair, as represented by Patricia Prieto, Camille Co and Tricia Gosingtian.

twist." As the mastermind behind the Blair collection, she designs clothes that are classy, sophisticated, and clean, but never boring.

"I like to mix and match to keep things interesting and versatile, but at the end of the day, still put together." Citing Alexander McQueen and Michael Cinco as her influences, Chow makes sure there's always something interesting in her garments, like a unique peplum cut, flared sleeves, or an eye-catching piece of fabric. "As a designer, I love the tension and interest created by dichotomy in style, which means a mix of masculine and feminine elements or luxe and street."

Unlike Chow, Josh's design aesthetic for Katy isn't quite like her personal style. While Katy, inspired by the eponymous pop star, has a more playful, fun, unique sense of style, Josh prefers more laidback, comfortable clothing for herself.

But that doesn't mean her designs aren't a reflection of who she is.

A Katy dress designed by Josh Buenaflor for S/S 2013 When Josh landed the responsibility of designing for Katy, she immediately fell in love with the personality. "Inisip ko, ako 'yun.

Parang artista na ini-internalize yung role [I thought to myself, 'I'm Katy,' like an actress internalizing her role]." Thus, she began to play.

And the reason her designs are so playful and fun? It's exactly what she does: play with them. One could say that Josh's design process is creative expression at its core: she is fueled by her moods, and these are evident in her designs.

"Kung happy ako," she says, "yung magiging outfit, super playful [If I'm happy, the outfit I design will be super playful]." She cites the popular Katy sweetheart-cut dress as an example.

Together, these three different personalities are able to capture the different tastes and hearts of a wide range of girls, including celebrities of different ages, from Anne Curtis, to Kim Chiu, to Kathryn Bernardo.

Together, Ernest, Chow, and Josh have made Apartment Eight the new fashion home for the Filipina girl. â–Ą FUEL 25

THE SOFA EXPERIENCE

It shouldn’t take nine weeks for someone to learn how to write. That thought certainly crossed my mind as I was about to enroll in SoFA’s Fashion Journalism course. After eighteen years of English classes and countless papers, I was sure I already had a good grasp of the language. So why bother with Fashion Writing? Because it doesn’t only teach you how to write (that bit would have been covered by the first half of the first class), but it gives you something to write about.

I took this writing class because I wanted to give fashion more substance. There are so many fashion bloggers nowadays, most of them writing about what they wore and where they wore it, the people they were with, and the fun they had. While I have nothing against this, and I have great respect for the bloggers who become real influential figures in society, it still made me hungry for more. I believed that there was more to fashion writing than writing about what you wore. SoFA’s Fashion Writing class didn’t just teach me how to write. It allowed me to meet interesting new friends – Diana Vreeland, Coco Chanel, Wallis Simpson, to name a few. Because of Fashion Writing, I learned the stories behind today’s most luxurious brands. But I think the most important thing Fashion Writing taught me was to keep searching for stories I haven’t yet heard, to go in pursuit of beautiful and inspiring things, and to share this with the public. There’s no denying that there are people who will find this frou-frou or pointless, but that’s okay. And if you think that, then maybe this class isn’t for you. But for those who want to hear the most real fairy tales, and share them with the world, then I recommend that you do take this Fashion Writing class.

CREDITS

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This issue wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the coolest people in the world:

KEVIN CAYUCA Produces edgy photos, and has models chasing after him http://kevincayuca.blogspot.com/

MIA CRESPO Crazy athlete; studied styling at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York

ZEH BOMBAIS Knows everything about makeup; overall, a really nice girl http://zehbombais.blogspot.com/

KYLIE VERZOSA Crazy model; often the prettiest girl in the room; everyone stares when she walks by

LOVELACE CLOTHING Special thanks to Ally Cheng of Lovelace Clothing for the clothes.

Like them on Facebook!

KAY ISABEDRA Talented designer of Gold Lock Army’s bracelets. Follow @goldlockarmy on Instagram!