MEET THE MENTORS Series 1

As a former student of the Designer Fashion Workshop (DFW), I got invited to the Asian Institute of Fashion's (AIF) very first "Meet the Mentors" event yesterday, Saturday, September 3, at the AIF, iAcademy, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. (DFW is among AIF's projects, FYI.)

Top Local Designers Lulu Tan-Gan and Robi Lolin shared the ins and outs of the fashion process -- from where they get their inspirations, to the actual creation of their designs, planning fashion campaigns, building their brands, reaching their target markets, managing the business side, keeping their creative juices flowing, etc.  

I think it was a very smart choice to have Lulu and Robi together -- while Lulu manages her own brand, Robi heads the creative team of Folded & Hung. They're proof that there is no one formula to a fashion professional's success. If you have the capital, then by all means you can build your own brand. If not, do not lose heart. There is an option for you to create via an existing brand. 

Since they talked about the fashion process, they got to touch on fashion careers. It was inspiring to hear (yet again!) that designing is not the only job for people interested in the fashion industry. One could also get into styling, the marketing / promo side (fashion campaigns), fashion journalism, or buying / merchandising (bringing the creations to the market). Yey!

I love how the truly talented are truly generous of their knowledge, skills, experience, and time. It was a fab way to jump start (the talk started at 10am on a Saturday!) my first "freedom" weekend. *wink*

Above:
Scenes from the Talk by Lulu Tan-Gan and Robi Lolin.
Photos taken from my lowly Nokia E63, sorry.
For better photos, check out DFW's Facebook page.

Above:
WHAT I WORE
3/4-sleeved black blazer with gold studs, Taipei tiangge
Black shirt, Gap
Blue jeans, Topshop
Black flats, Zara
Black bag, Fino
Gold loops, tiangge find
Gold bangle, F21

Above:
After the Talk, they allowed us to see the rooms
that will be used for Project Runway Philippines' new season.
AIF is this season's partner school (Yey! Proud student!)