FASHION enthusiasts in Bacolod City were treated to a delightful high fashion experience through a creative and well-placed fashion and art exhibition geared to please their senses. Dubbed as “Fashion Nouveaulution,” it gathered emerging, upcoming, and notable names in the Philippines' ever-evolving fashion industry.
The three-night event assembled local and Manila-based models to don designer’s clothing. They have put on signature night attires, glittering gowns, imaginative hair pieces and head-turning body accessories.
Despite the heavy rains last Sunday, its third night, the culminating event was well attended—it was more emotional compared to the first two nights. Young accessories maker, Bacoleño Jbee Belediano emerged as the most applauded after launching his signature line of beyond the usual neck, head and arm pieces.
A little shy to walk the runway, it was such an emotionally high experience to see a skillful designer shed some tears of joy after hearing good compliments from his townmates. Without doubt, the young artist will soon become one of the country’s next front man in the field of producing top-of-line fashion accessories.
His “dark” and inventive pieces have been earning rounds of attention online, with more and more photographers landing as his collaborator in producing high-fashion, non-commercial, editorial pieces.
The artist graduated from La Consolacion College. His keen eyes for craftsmanship and design landed him as a favorite partner of fashion designers in Manila to complement their clothing lines. For the first time, we got to raise our hands in awe for a fellow Bacoleño who has been earning rounds of applause in Manila for his skillfully hand-crafted accessories.
On the sides, there were painting exhibitions courtesy of Negrense artists like Manny Montelibano and Charlie Co. The show also featured the collection of international designer Yugenia Alexan Yushkuva, Cebuano designer Jian Lasala, Card Arcita, SXY, Shoe Brand Seven Weekends of MJ Si, among others.
Nouveau Management owner Kez Pedrosa said they want to create employment and encourage fashion designers to come to Bacolod to showcase their collections. “This is not just a fashion show. We want to showcase local products and local talent. We hope that through Nouveaulution, people will come to Bacolod City for fashion. It’s what we call fashion tourism,” she said.
Unlike other local fashion shows, the event pulled off a kind of format that was once only seen in the Metro. What makes it a more rewarding experience is its class act to devote the show solely to clothing design lines. There were no unnecessary intermissions, no over-the-top hosting stints and no extremely inappropriate lights, backdrops and sounds.
After all, we were there to celebrate the artistry of our designers and the ingenuity of our artists. Fitting enough, as maybe suggested by a good friend and the event's marketing arm, Albert Gomez, Fashion Nouveaulution has re-introduced fashion to Bacolod in a way it should have been introduced: simple, inventive, and yes, wearable.