Cover Several looks from Vania Romoff's Ready-to-Wear 2024 collection (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
Several looks from Vania Romoff's Ready-to-Wear 2024 collection (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
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Vania Romoff takes us inside her new store and indulges our questions regarding her latest ready-to-wear collection
Vania Romoff describes her successful stylistic endeavour as “a very slow fashion studio”. If one could dare to define her ethos, it’s that clothes shouldn’t be confined to the back of the closet. The designer admits, “We always like to think of our clothes as versatile enough to really wear throughout the year and comfortable enough to wear all the time.”
Romoff’s eponymous label recently christened a new brick-and-mortar location in Mandalyong, six years after she opened the doors of her first location in Makati. It is also home to the soon-to-be-open Vania Romoff bridal studio, one of the only ones of its kind in the Philippines.
The small retail space takes design cues from Romoff’s Makati atelier, replete with bespoke flower arrangements, elegantly curved fixtures, and of course, a selection of ready-to-wear pieces: tops, bottoms, dresses and footwear from the new Season ‘24 collection.
Related: Icons in Artistry: Rajo Laurel and Vania Romoff Reveal Their Creative Process
Above Vania Romoff in her newest store located in Shangri-la Plaza (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
Vania Romoff in her newest store located in Shangri-la Plaza (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
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Though they don’t necessarily follow the traditional seasonal calendar, the label releases two major collections at the start and end of each year. These latest designs were actually intended to drop earlier in the year but were delayed to coincide with the opening of the new store.
This collection includes her classic linen staple pieces, which can easily be dressed up or down. Florals and embroidery make welcome appearances. The designer muses, “[these embellishments] take me back to warmer days.” The colours are neutral and nothing short of faithful to Romoff’s canon. Deep browns, caramels, pumpkin, and an unexpected pop of chartreuse were picked for their ability to flatter general skin undertones.
There are clouds of poplin sleeves, marriages of earthy hues, drop-waist dresses, and billowy skirts. These are some of the familiar marks of the Vania Romoff aesthetic, but as the designer shares, “We don’t like to box in our pieces. Yes, they aren’t necessarily trendy because you can wear them from season to season, but that’s always what we aim for [...] I need to see myself being able to wear something now that I can wear again a year from now.”
Above Details from Vania Romoff's newest store located in Shangri-la Plaza (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
Above Details from Vania Romoff's newest store located in Shangri-la Plaza (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
Details from Vania Romoff's newest store located in Shangri-la Plaza (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
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“You’ll always find a sense of romanticism in the clothes. It’s always about celebrating a woman’s body,” Romoff says. “I really make sure that all the pieces can be worn for any kind of woman and for any season. Something that you can keep in your wardrobe forever.”
She’s a designer with a singular vision but does not depend on mood boards, or Pinterest feeds for sparks of inspiration, as she feels it restricts her process and gives her tunnel vision. Her designs always start with the fabric. She is devoted to the materials and trusts the fabric to decide how the creation will look. “I start with something special, like a detail of the fabric that I love. That’s how I let it all pan out,” she states. “And then I create a collection around it.”
More from Tatler: Behind the Seams: Meet 8 designers redefining the Filipino fashion world
Above The Leanne Dress in Caramel from Vania Romoff's Ready-to-Wear 2024 collection (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
Above The Paulina Dress in Beige from Vania Romoff's Ready-to-Wear 2024 collection (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
The Leanne Dress in Caramel from Vania Romoff's Ready-to-Wear 2024 collection (Photo: Courtesy of Vania Romoff)
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According to Romoff, this ensures a sense of cohesion in a collection, which she admits she’s fixated on. “For me, a certain collection always has to make allusions to the next. Just because it comes from a former season doesn’t mean it can’t mix with current pieces.”
Romoff cites the Camisa as an example—a customer favourite and a frequent carry-over from previous collections. “If you keep adding pieces into the store, you’ll see it all goes well together. She states, “I have a certain aesthetic that somehow translates into every season. Not to say that it’s redundant, but it’s in the brand’s DNA.”
She shares how she keeps the flame alive with her relationship to design, “As long as I’m in the process of creating it, I feel a sense of excitement when my sketch transforms into a sample [...] it’s about evoking a sense of joy.”
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About
Julianna has been interested in leading a literary life since she first read Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess at eight. Before working with Tatler, she was an archive intern at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, New York. She is a textbook Pisces who devotes most of her spare time to her crochet projects, watching classic films, and going through her never-ending pile of unread books. She studied creative writing, global literature and art history at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2022. Toni Morrison, Nora Ephron, Clarice Lispector and Jia Tolentino are among her all-time favourite writers.
Work
Julianna writes about fashion, beauty, sustainability, and the arts. She is always keen on conducting interviews with talented women who are changing the game in their respective fields.
For event invites and story leads, hit her up at julianna.cabili@tatlerasia.com
