Below is the complete article and if you check the newspaper version there are about 9 photos that are used in the article (click here for the web version):
A Star Is Born
By C. Mendez Legaspi
Amid the Saluds, Peraltas, Madambas and distinguished young designers that showed spectacularly at the recently concluded Philippine Fashion Week, there was Sassa Jimenez. Out of fashion thin air, this burgeoning talent shone brightly at the SMX Convention Center in Runway Productions’ biggest fete yet of the country’s style-setters and trend-minders.
Coming from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, the hotbed of creativity that nurtured Monique Lhuillier and Santino Rice, Jimenez showcased her sterling talent in pattern-making and translating this into delectable dresses that swept a well-heeled crowd off its feet.
In a restrained and refined show directed by Cata Figueroa Jr., Jimenez showed a mature understanding of what women of achievement want to wear (“only in the most luxurious fabric”) when out on the town to have fun. Two formal black dresses easily stood out: one had a ball-gown silhouette with a lace bodice. “The silhouette is traditional, yet we rarely see a ball gown in dark colors. I wanted to inject a bit of sexiness into it,” Jimenez explains.
The other gown, worn on the runway by Teresa Herrera, had a dangerously low neckline. “It’s cut in a mermaid silhouette because it makes one seem taller, slimmer and sexier. It’s also in black, because I know black will make anyone look good.”
Jimenez displayed a range well beyond her 21 years. She experimented with draping and gathering in a pink “rose” skirt with a black cowl neck top. “But I didn’t want it to look too complicated so I decided to make just one area of the skirt the focal point, so I ended up with a textured portion near the bottom that resembles a rose beaming outwards on the skirt.”
Giddy at the endless possibilities of what she can capably create, Jimenez says she sees “beauty in the inconsistent folds of the fabric,” deftly incorporating origami-like details, puff sleeves with hot-pink piping, diamond ruffles, even a hood on silk chiffon, cotton voile and satin.
“Most of the pieces in the collection emphasize the woman’s waist but there are also pieces where I try to show that a dress doesn’t have to hug a woman’s waist, bust or hips to make her appear sexy,” Jimenez says. “I create dresses because I believe that every woman deserves that one dress that’s sure to make her look good and feel good.”
IN PHOTO -- TALK OF THE TOWN. Only in the most luxurious fabrics the collection that Sassa Jimenez showcased at Philippine Fashion Week had the town talking.
