Kaye Morales
Courtesy of BYS Cosmetics
Kaye Morales
Courtesy of BYS Cosmetics
Day 2 of BYS Fashion Week was all about confidence and extravagance.
BYS celebrated its decade-long anniversary with a festival of fashion at BYS Fashion Week. The three-day event brought together a star-studded audience, which included the likes of photographer BJ Pascual alongside actors Jasmine Curtis Smith, Nadine Lustre, and Arci Muñoz.
The second day of the fashion event featured the collections of Kaye Morales and JustBonita by Bonita Penaranda. Held at the Maybank Theatre in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, the shows began with a video presentation by BYS that featured several individuals discussing mental health issues and finding help in an effort to destigmatize the social issue.
Kaye Morales, who has shown collections at both local and international fashion weeks (in Los Angeles and Vancouver) often draws inspiration from the combination of streetwear and couture. Of her work, the Saudi Arabia-born designer says she “[transforms] pain, darkness, and everything tragic into pieces that evoke beauty, transcendence, and ultimately, resilience.” This ethos is captured in her latest collection entitled Unchained.
The first looks of Morales’ collection featured a red, black, and white palette embellished with studs and chains. Graphic prints featured the words: paranoid, anxiety, and depression. This seemed to reference a personal journey of acceptance and confidence, as the show ended with the Drag Race Philippines finalists Marina Summers and Eva Le Queen who walked out in extravagant gowns and sparkling jumpsuits. Actor Arci Muñoz closed the show in a black glitter T-shirt and tiered billowing mullet skirt that showed off her thigh-high patent leather boots.
JustBonita by Bonita Penaranda followed shortly after an intermission round of cocktails. The former celebrity stylist debuted her fashion line this year with a collection of sultry corsets. In keeping with her ultra-feminine aesthetic, Penaranda’s BYS Fashion Week show consisted of sparkling négligées, sensual high-slit gowns, and feathered cocktail dresses.
In keeping with the designer’s advocacy to push gender boundaries, her looks were worn by people of all genders. To close the show, Penaranda tapped two muses: Miss Philippines 2022 winner Celeste Cortesi, who walked out in an elegant black gown and feathered headdress, as well as Binibining Pilipinas International 2022 winner Nicole Borromeo, who strutted the runway in a sparkling mesh two-piece ensemble and feathered collar.
