Celebrating the Strength of Women
4:09:00 PM
I'm deeply and greatly inspired by a number of women around me.
When I get to know them I find them strong in different ways especially in
facing challenges. From my family, relatives, friends, acquaintances and
sometimes even strangers who I just met, I'm just so inspired by the
level of strength in a woman. We all have our hidden troubles
and challenges that we don't share about with the world but we still
face it, keep on walking and remind ourselves to smile as well as
be thankful for the simple but major fact that we are alive and are
able to breathe.
"You never know how strong you are until being strong
is the only choice you have left." ~Unknown~
Time really flies. It's almost ONE year since the birth
of aere. Alhamdulillah. aere's
first collection was launched on 28th October 2014, last year and now we
have just entered October. And today, aere
fully launched its fourth collection, the Strength of Grace
collection, in celebration of all of the strong women.
I have been waiting for this day as I've been wanting to have
my own workwear collection and have been thinking of having my own pieces
designed specifically to be worn for work. I remember when I started working
many many years ago, looking for working clothes was always a challenge but it
was a fun kind of challenge though. :) Consisting of fashionable and wearable
work-wear pieces, the aere Strength of Grace
collection is the first fully focused collection of the aere
work wear line, aere MIGHT.
Having been in the legal and corporate world for 7 years before
focusing fully on my label, I believe that other than having substance, being
smart and hardworking it is also very important to be presentable and to look
good to climb up that corporate ladder.
This collection is about providing a stylish choice to all of
the working women out there that reflect her strength and confidence because
today’s ‘woman’ is everything. We have to juggle a lot of things, don't we?
For me personally, this collection is not just dedicated
for the professional working women in the corporate world. It is also for the
entrepreneurs, the creative heads, the full-time mothers and all women juggling
multiple roles in our modern society today. She’s soft and feminine, yet active
and strong, she has to be. She plays multiple roles: she works hard and aims
high and I feel that they all deserve some form of recognition for their
choice. Today, there is a better environment and there is less of a perception
of a woman's ability and competency in the workplace and that itself is a cause
of celebration. But of course, it is equally important to be able to carry
yourself impeccably by dressing well.
When I founded aere last year, I already had in mind
three different lines: aere NIGHT (evening wear), aere MIGHT (work wear) and
aere LIGHT (casual wear). So the Strength of Grace collection is a part of aere
MIGHT. In aere’s previous collections, Nature of Grace,
Blossoming of Grace, aerexdUCk and Essence of Grace (KLFW collection) there
were already pieces that we designed for aere MIGHT. But this is the first
collection that fully consists of work-wear pieces that I have always wanted to
do.
This collection consists of fashionable pieces designed to
incorporate subtle elements of style and sophistication made of materials that
are durable, versatile, easy to care for, and, most of all, comfortable right
off the shelf. Focusing mostly on soft and neutral hues to accentuate a woman’s
softness, there are jackets, classic longline dress shirts, blouses and pin
tucked pants, amongst others, that are suitable for the office. These classic
work-wear pieces have been given a modern interpretation by aere with its
signature zippers and buttons and are engineered to be multi-functional. For
example, the GALLIA Adjustable Zipper Skirt offers three different ways of
styling: A-Line, mermaid or flared with just a pull of aere’s signature zippers
and the ALUMEN Adjustable Palazzo Pants which can convert your stylish
straight-cut pants into a more casual bell-bottom or flared look palazzo.
Additionally, these pieces can be paired with other pieces of the aere MIGHT
line.
When I was naming the designs, I was inspired by
names of winds (soft) and metals (strong) : BRISA, GALLIA, PLATINA, OSTRIA,
ALUMEN, LEVANT. Since aere is also Latin for air, I felt it would be apt
to name the pieces after elements of softness and also strength.
Below are some logbook and campaign photos of the Strength of Grace collection. I'll probably share the behind the scenes story and photos soon!
Below are some logbook and campaign photos of the Strength of Grace collection. I'll probably share the behind the scenes story and photos soon!
Model : Deanna Ibrahim
Art Director & Stylist : Me & Ibnu Aswan
Photographers : Husaini Mustapha & Farid Rosli
Makeup Artist : Sahir Sabri
GA : Mia
The limited aere pieces from the Strength of Grace collection are available online today at FashionValet and selected physical stockists soon, priced between RM149.90 - RM239.90. There's a contest on aere's IG aimed at celebrating achievements of all us women out there and to spread and inspire strength and success. Do check it out!
PEACE & LOVE!
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