Fashion with a purpose

Maureen Wroblewitz lost her mother to breast cancer in 2009. This year, the first Filipina Asia’s Next Top Model walked the runway, along with other celebrities, personalities, and models, to deliver a message of hope to breast cancer sufferers and survivors. 

Wroblewitz was the face of ICanServe Foundation’s Fashion Can Serve 2017 show, which gathered six designers—Cary Santiago, Mia Arcenas, Vania Romoff, Rosenthal Tee, Ito Curata, and JC Buendia—who presented their Holiday 2017 collections to support programs for breast cancer awareness and early detection. 

The fund-raising show not only saw men and women working together, through fashion, to fight breast cancer, but also stylish creations made by Filipino designers. 

Cary Santiago

As one of Santiago’s muses, Wroblewitz looked like a goddess in a knee-length see-through dress that represented the elegant pearls in the Philippines, as well as the collection’s theme that celebrated women’s fluidity and femininity. No less than Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach drove the couturier’s message to home as she appeared on the catwalk in an effortlessly beautiful white ball gown. 

Ito Curata 

Vibrant, regal colors were spotted in Curata’s collection--there was an emerald off-shoulder top, a soft gold gown, and royal blue gowns embellished with sequins. Curata had successfully showed to the crowd how eclectic colors exude positivity and make a person happy. His Holiday collection have also incorporated ribbons in support for ICanServe Foundation's advocacy of raising awareness.

Mia Arcenas

The soft side of a woman was what Arcenas wanted to convey to the audience. To achieve this, she focused on feminine elements by creating a flowy satin dress with hint of fur which was worn by Solenn Huessaff. Women’s soft side can also be translated literally in her collection through the textures of her dresses like the two-toned velvet dress and chiffon skirt number.

Vania Romoff 

Known for her romantic and feminine pieces, Romoff chose to put emphasis on feminine lines and silhouettes in order to showcase the strength of women. She incorporated ribbons in her white dresses to show support for the foundation’s advocacy. Lace and satin A-line dresses in hues of blue were also present in her collection to showcase the simple elegance of women’s figure. 

Rosenthal Tee 

The young designer who’s been making waves in the fashion industry, opted to feature women's flirtatiousness and youthfulness. Tee played with Eastern Asian influences such as the use of eye-catching colors of gold, cherry pink, and Chinese red. She also incorporated nature’s vitality by showing the fluidity of the sea through her cyan dress, and the beauty of leaves and flowers through her see-through number with hints of fur. 

JC Buendia 

Finally, Buendia who marks his 30th year in the fashion industry this year, opted for black with hints of pink embellished with cherry blossoms and peonies as his major design elements. His collection portrayed women’s strength based on the ‘70s revolutionary fashion era where women had the freedom to express themselves with whatever they wanted to wear whether it was a pair of bell bottoms, maxi skirt, or sharp jumpsuits.