Up the Voltage: A pleasant shock of the new
Rey R. Ilagan
While numerous foreign brands have touched base with the local men’s market, the playing field remains unleveled for more adventurous retail fashion.
Body-conscious silhouettes and unorthodox cuts largely have failed to pass through the filter of conservative taste, creating voids in the men’s market for directional and innovative design.
But, then, perhaps the reason why Filipino men stick to a certain shirt-and-jeans code is because they are given limited options, preventing them from evolving their styles or, at least, from consciously trying new fashion.
A new and exciting brand may just be what the style doctor ordered. Kaiser’s kaleidoscopic color schemes and formal cum seaside-casual mash-up is fresh, sparkling and just pleasing to the eye. While it does remind me of California-based label Trovata, mixed with a Ralph Lauren flair for classic pieces and detailing, its clothes are a definite buy in my book and the brand, a most welcome entrant to menswear retail.
Here, established stylist Noel Manapat, the brains behind Kaiser, shares his insights about local menswear and the birth of his brand.
i: How did you come up with the menswear brand Kaiser?
NM: I am a stylist, more than a designer. Kaiser is my personal project to create pieces of clothing I’ve been dreaming about but could not find in the current menswear market.
i: Is this a reflection on the current situation of Philippine menswear fashion?
NM: There is a definite void in the menswear market for individual pieces, with experimental cuts at reasonable prices, unlike womenswear where a lot of young designers have gone retail to address this void. For men, the choices have remained limited, I think because the big retailers find the individual market as a very niche, limited market, which it really is.
i: What inspired you for this collection? I see a pool of colors in the collection.
NM: For the first capsule collection, my inspiration is my current state of mind: happiness. I wanted the colors to be Lego-bright—a palette that would make us all smile. With patterned linings to add a bit of surprise, even when my clients wear the pieces with their tried and tested white T-shirt and jeans, they would still look different.
I wanted the look to be carefree and careless, so I added plaid shorts, fun glasses, and feathered fedora hats combined just-so, very randomly.
i: What materials did you use?
NM: Kaiser is primarily about traditional formal pieces appropriated as everyday wear, through the use of casual and comfortable fabrics. Thus, my key items are pique suits, terrycloth jackets and cotton kimono shirts. They are "formal" clothes meant to be worn casually, alternative to the usual black suit.
I’ve also deliberately priced Kaiser at affordable prices. I want the items not be treated as precious pieces kept in the drawers, but as everyday items.
i: Who is the man you’re designing for?
NM: The Kaiser man is someone who wants to dress up, but not like the guy beside him. At the same time, would not want to spend his morning making that effort, so he throws on a Kaiser suit to add to whatever he’s wearing and goes on with his day. He is an individual.
Kaiser is available at Anthology located at the new Archaeology wing of the Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City.
E-mail the author at nagali_manila@yahoo.it.
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