In her book, you go for a look not because it’s trendy, but because it makes you happy. Her clothes play a supporting role to the real stars of the show. After all, she’s still first and foremost a bag, jewelry and, lately, face mask designer.
By Alex Y. Vergara
Photography by Mau Aguasin/Dix Perez
Hair and makeup by Leo Posadas
EDITOR’S NOTE: This feature first appeared in the October-November 2019 issue of PeopleAsia magazine. Since then, designer Ann Ong has added limited edition face masks to her merchandise. Follow her on Instagram at @ann_ong_ to see samples of her work.
In her efforts to broaden her market, accessories designer Ann Ong has been joining trade shows abroad for six years now. During one such gathering in New York, Ann met none other than Iris Apfel, one of her style idols. After Ann’s brief talk with the bespectacled 98-year-old American interior designer and fashion icon, her views on fashion were reaffirmed by what Iris said: “You go for a look not because it’s trendy. You wear it because it makes you happy.”
In Iris’ case, that would mean print-on-print ensembles, chunky jewelry pieces and her signature circular-framed eyeglasses in the boldest colors. Ann, who began as a bag designer before trying her hand at jewelry design, doesn’t go for clothes with bold colors and printed patterns like she used to. Instead, she now prefers looks in solid neutral shades that double as blank canvases for her statement jewelry pieces. But the essence of what Iris said still resonates with her.
“Imagine, Iris buys most of her clothes and jewelry pieces in flea markets,” says Ann, a three-time Manila FAME Katha awardee for her one-of bags made of sustainable materials. “It doesn’t matter where you get your clothes or who does them. What’s important is the way you put things together. The way you carry them and how they fit. You don’t need a stylist to help you figure out your look if you have that gift.”
And with such an innate gift also comes confidence. Confidence that transcends brands and trends. Instead, by “claiming” the look, says Ann, “it becomes your style, whether you’re off to a big event or just doing a quick errand to the grocery.”
That same confidence also separates a stylish woman from a fashionable one. By and large, adds Ann, a stylish woman could simply mean she has the money and access to splurge on prevailing trends, cool brands and hotshot designers. Her fashionable sister, on the other hand, could readily mix and match and put a look together—from high-end designer labels to high-street brands as well as vintage finds, whether from the neighborhood ukay-ukay (second-hand) store or from her grandmother’s closet.
“No matter how you see yourself, stylish or fashionable, at the end of the day, you have to let your look speak for who you are. The style, not the brand, has to be a reflection of you.”
And how does Ann, who, before 2011, wasn’t at all directly involved with design, but was busy helping run the family’s business, see herself?
Without giving it much thought, she considers herself fashionable rather than trendy. She loves designer labels, especially off-the-rack pieces by Belgian designer Martin Margiela, but she isn’t averse to “mixing and matching” fast-fashion brands like Zara and Primark into her everyday look. She also makes it a point to occasionally invest in a wicked pair of shoes by, say, Gucci or Chanel whenever they’re on sale.
“By choice, I wear looks that are simple, but with a twist that could offer me a lot of mileage,” she says.
Although her edgy aesthetics are almost poles apart from her designer-son’s Valentino-influenced approach to fashion, Ann also has a few key John Paras pieces in her wardrobe, including a black coat she wears to this photo shoot.
“I never tell my son what to do. He knows what I like, and that I’m not so much into trends,” she says.
But it doesn’t mean that Ann is oblivious to them. On the contrary, “as visions of my fellow designers,” she appreciates trends. But you shouldn’t be a slave to them. Again, you have to make them work for you and not the other way around.
That’s why whenever she’s abroad attending trade fairs, Ann keeps an eye out on emerging fashion designers, particularly those who participate in shows held in New York and Paris. Apart from learning from them while engaging in shop talk, she manages to get first dibs at pieces that comprise their respective collections. Some are even willing to sell to her their samples at a fraction of the cost on the show’s last day.
“As a designer, I also create my own trends even with my jewelry pieces,” Ann, who’s busy putting the finishing touches to her SM Aura store after closing her outlet at a five-star hotel some months ago, says. “My attempts to mix fashion and art together result in pieces that are so different and cater to a specific market, which is mostly high-end and fashion-forward.”
She further describes her designs, be they bags or jewelry pieces, as quite “organic.” Being imbued with the heart and soul of an artisan, her designs are “useless unless an artisan can turn my visions into reality,” Ann adds. “It’s like a marriage between husband and wife.”
Ann also doesn’t look down on women who are easily influenced by celebrities or fashion magazines when it comes to fashion. But at the end of the day, she asserts, the look you put together, despite its many influences, has “to reflect the real you.”
“My wardrobe is composed of classic and basic pieces that I can really use again and again,” she says. “Because when I dress up for an event, I think of the jewelry I’d be wearing first before I think of the clothes.”
Her clothes play a supporting role to the real stars of the show. Ann Ong, after all, is still first and foremost a bag and jewelry designer.
