Yes. I know. I keep on having "words" about the Erzullie Plus Size Corporate 2013 collection. It has already been released earlier this March. Now the Erzulliestas are just clamoring for it ONLINE.
I mean, even my mind is saying it ... --- JUST RELEASE IT ALREADY, damn!
Before we do, and I promise we will, I would just like to share a few good words with regards to the Corporate 2013 collection.
The reason it was born was mainly because a lot of Erzulliestas have been asking for it and the first woman that ever did ask for it was our dear Erzulliesta, Rocky Lim (aka swankywoman). I was interested with the idea because it is true, all of Erzulliestas are fierce career woman (no matter what path they have chosen). Why not design a fierce corporate attire for them?
At first, the theme was supposed to be "Makati City". I remember seeing this photo in Facebook. It showed a city that looked like New York and then it mentioned "New York? No. It's Makati City." And I am like, yeah. Makati City is the New York City of the Philippines (although some may disagree, I respect that but for the purposes of my view, please... just give this to me.) I was also initially inspired by plus size model and blogger, Jhaki David at that time. She had this photo of her hair up in a bun and she had sunglasses on.
How chic!
I wanted that to be the theme of the Corporate 2013. I wanted to have the Urban Jungle vibe. I was drawing leopard prints, bright colors with some nudes. I was sketching long trench coats, pencil skirts, button down tops and so on. But then, the Holiday Bazaar came in and the Erzulliestas were requesting that our blazers be longer but not that long. They were also requesting for some tops that can transpire from work to play and back and forth. I have looked at my sketches and I was like ... "This is not good enough."
I have tried a different approach on the collection but unfortunately it ended up just wrong. Everything that I sketch is something that is "common" (and Erzulliestas are everything but common) or something that I have seen before (and why would my Erzulliestas buy something form us that they have already seen elsewhere?) I needed something fresh. I needed something new. I needed a perspective that would say --- "Ah Aries! Erzullie has done it again!"
And so, I went back to square one. I went back to Ms. Rocky Lim, the Erzulliesta that rolled the ball with regards to this collection and really kept me on track by regularly checking on me about it whenever we meet. Lol. I was thinking, "What would Ms. Rocky wear to work?" Since she is an Erzulliesta with a (high profile) job, I wonder what she would look like at work in "fierce mode".
And then it hit me --- ALPHA FEMALE. My Erzulliestas are all Alpha Females. They are at the head of their game. They are the queen of their cubicles. They are the goddesses of their businesses/blogs/hobbies/family etc. They are the ALPHA FEMALES.
Then I have started to sketch again but to no avail. The sketches are not "Alpha Female" enough. Then it was time for cloth shopping and that is where the pure inspiration came from. There were no sketches but the theme helped me choose the fabrics, which later on determined the looks and style of each design. I absolutely love it. We have discovered fabrics that we have not used before and we haven't seen used on a plus size clothing locally. So here we are.... The Corporate 2013 collection.
During production, we make it a point that we really consider the final price of the product. You know us girls, we try very hard to keep it within the range of Php 480-1,000.00 as much as possible but in the past collections, we have reached around Php 1,200.00 I think. This time, because of the fabric and the construction, I was a little nervous because the maximum range has now reached Php 1,370.00. I was thinking if the Erzulliestas would find it worthy of its price. But I know my Erzulliestas, once they see the quality of the craftsmanship on every piece of design and the high quality fabrics used, we know they will see that it's worth the price.
Then the public launching happened this March for the Corporate 2013. I was surprised that the ones that were priced at the maximum range was almost sold out by the end of the 3 day sale. It was amazing for us. I am so happy that Erzulliestas went there and actually appreciated what we did. Thank you so much again, for making that happen.
But wait, the journey is not yet over. The Corporate 2013 collection is supposed to be launched online. With that, of course, we still have to shoot the campaigns/editorials of the Brand for Corporate 2013. Not only that but it is now in conjunction with the Resort 2013 timeline. Oh dear... what to do. To view the panic? Click here. But like every reality series out there, everything went well in the end. Click here to view the BTS photos of both Corporate and Resort 2013 photo shoot.
So now, here we are few hours before we post the editorials, one by one and soon enough it will be available online, I hope that you girls will be able to love it as much as I did. The journey was crazy but because of my main inspiration --- you, Erzulliestas --- and the confidence you have --- I was able to push through.
Lots of love and gratitude for everyone.
Cheers!
Aries
P.S. Berna and I would like to thank the Erzullie Team --- Mark Alvarez, Azaza Rodriguez, Katrina Catapia and Audrey Ann Lee for making this particular photo shoot to happen, as well as Rouge Studio, for being the place where we do the magic. Love for everyone!
