The word ‘fashion’ – and its sisters ‘style’ and ‘trend’ – has certainly woven a splendidly tangled web. Its inception (and the word is used loosely, for in truth, who can say that fashion had a distinct start?) focused on the garment; its unrelenting stride went on to snare headgear and footwear and accessories. And all the while, fashion flitted from everyday presentations to runway creations to photo manipulations to street productions.
Hence, the convoluted mesh.
It’s not simply a tangle in itself; fashion has created a web that weaves in and out the everyday so seamlessly that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Clothes, in fact, do make the man—though not for the reasons the cliché presupposes. Cookie-cutter templates are out, and fashion is no longer one-note. To walk fashion’s web is to walk through its snares: anything and everything, the way Rosanna Aranaz does.
Looking for Lola
The Aranaz name might strike a familiar chord, as it’s synonymous with the illustrious handbag brand that juxtaposes native materials and modern-day craft. She grew up in the world of bags, but Rosanna’s not about to sever all ties with fashion’s other pursuits.
A Friday afternoon spent thrifting with Dani Alip sparked Looking for Lola, or “Lola” in short. Given the pair’s concession to the thriving recession chic scene, Rosanna and Dani redesign and rework vintage pieces—either from ukays or their grandmothers’ closets—with modern twists. “[Vintage pieces] make you really stand out,” says Rosanna. “For sure no one else will have it.”
Their first piece was a baggy and old-fashioned dress; after taking it in and adding cut-outs, the pair created an outfit that every girl would covet. “It’s a good way to up-cycle,” Dani shares. “We like taking things that people would see as ugly and finding a way to make them work.”
Though vintage might not be for everyone—and even if it gets declared a fashion faux pas—Rosanna would rather go for vintage pieces than what the fashion gods declare du jour. “Honestly, I can’t tell you what’s in and what’s out,” Rosanna admits.
An 80s darling
Rosanna’s love for vintage resonates in her love for layering, a trend captured best by the 80s. Though she didn’t grow up in the decade—“I’m like a fake 80s child!”—Rosanna declares that it’s her favorite style era, when lace went hand in hand with jackets.
Incidentally, the jacket is her favorite fashion garment. Rosanna shares, “If you go to my closet, one whole side is jackets!” Perhaps it’s because jackets easily add layers to any outfit—of course, Rosanna’s love for layering shines through.
Not in Ateneo though. Just eight months fresh from the campus, Rosanna recalls those overcast mornings that could turn brutally hot, or the clear skies that could become a roiling mass of black within minutes. Regardless, Rosanna says, “People know me to be someone who really likes to layer.”
Little Miss Dress Up
It’s no surprise that Rosanna’s known for her layering affinity, as her style is splashed all over the Internet. Two years ago, Rosanna and Hanna Choa Yu launched Little Miss Dress Up (LMDU).
Since Hanna was leaving the country, LMDU started out as an entirely novel way to keep in touch through what they both loved—fashion. Rosanna or Hanna would post blog entries and photos—Rosanna in Manila, Hanna in Edinburgh—of their latest doings, purely for fun.
Yet the timing was impeccable. LMDU came at the height of fashion blogging but a drought of Manila bloggers; the next thing Rosanna and Hanna knew, the world had their eyes on the contrasting style scenes the blog presented, with Glamour.com being the first.
Rosanna recalls the email she received from Conde Nast, the influential publishing house. “It was so shocking to see someone from the States [wanting to feature us].”
And while she’s “one-half of LMDU,” Hanna insists that she’s mostly just in for the ride. “Rosanna loves fashion more,” Hanna shares. “She lives it, breathes it, it’s her religion almost. Even right now she’s a fashion powerhouse in the Philippines.”
True enough, Rosanna has been featured in Elle, Preview, Style Bible, and countless other blogs. Sometimes it’s because of LMDU, Looking for Lola, or Aranaz, but it’s always wholly Rosanna.
Juxtaposition
Reality shows have the world thinking that the fashion industry is one stuck-up clique; odds are you’ve already painted Rosanna as a more-fashionable-than-thou-snob, closeted in the industry she was born into and wearing outfits in the five-figure range. And odds are you’ve already struck out.
“I’m really a dork!” Rosanna proclaims, mentioning that her fallback plan would have involved computers—though according to Hanna, most people don’t realize Rosanna’s penchant for gadgets. In a sense, LMDU is the love child of the two things she’s most passionate about.
And though she’s praised for her fashion consciousness, Rosanna stays grounded—“Up to now I still feel that the only people who read my blog are my mom and friends,”—preferring Manila’s far-flung ukays to glittering boutiques. She says, “I love going ukay; it’s where you could really define your own personal style.”
Rosanna’s style doesn’t have cookie-cutter looks; ukays demand your creativity to make a piece your own.
Ad hoc
Rosanna will tell you that she’s just a blogger—the same way that Anna Wintour is just an editor and Coco Chanel is just a designer. Little Miss Dress Up proves her statement; everything else refutes it.
This Communication graduate is the very definition of ‘freelance.’ She’s dabbled in TV production, interned at the Lifestyle Network, contributes to The Philippine Daily Inquirer, works as a stylist (she’s the costume stylist for Manila’s “The Wedding Singer”), designs clothes, opens businesses–yet at the heart of all these is just one thing: fashion.
“I never thought I’d get into fashion,” says Rosanna.
Clearly that perception has changed, but you can be sure that Rosanna’s love for fashion.