Milka Quin’s Power Dressing Stance Blurs Gender Lines

Milka Quin’s Power Dressing Stance Blurs Gender Lines

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Milka Quin redefines power dressing by blurring the lines between the masculine and feminine.

It takes considerable patience, tenacity and perseverance to be part of the fashion industry. From fellow contemporaries to the massive ready-to-wear fast fashion brands saturating the country, competition is for lack of a better word, fierce. But more than thousands and thousands of followers on social media or a rapid supply production, what defines a designer is an ability to create pieces of great conception coupled with expert construction. With Milka Quin, you get that and more. The winner of Project Runway Philippines back in 2012, her skills have gone to a whole new level as she presents the woman she now dresses.

Surprisingly, Milka was never really fond of feminine dresses. “I hated ruffles!” she blurts out. “When I was a child, my mom used to buy all sorts of dresses for me to wear but I was never a girly girl.” Though her inclination was not initially geared towards design, she always had a penchant for creating things whether it be with fabric, wood or even metal. She then found herself putting lines and numbers on paper and as soon as she saw the 3D product on the mannequin, she was hooked. From then on, she was designing clothes for different kinds of women and there she was able to appreciate the construction of each piece. Needless to say, her aesthetics adjusted to the needs of her clients, a feat she is proud of. “Compromise will always be part of design. It is not a one way street,” she reasons. “What matters is what makes me and my client happy.”

A quiet worker and a designer who wants to keep learning, Milka uses her free time to further hone her craft. Her love for the technical side of design is further refined in these sessions. “The technical creation of a garment is always exciting to me. Experimenting on toile gives me a certain kind of thrill,” she shares. Now five years in the industry, she values her patience as her greatest achievement. It is this patience that keeps her going. “Fashion is a fickle industry. It wears out a lot of designers. I am sometimes surprised that I can still sit for hours trying to figure out the pattern of a certain garment,” wonders Milka. She expertly uses this value to widen her aesthetics, producing pieces that surprises everyone with its flawless tailoring and a certain unique accent that makes it a Milka Quin original. With her ability to create garments not only for her clients but also to keep her creative juices running, Milka also values the business side of design. “Handle your money well. This is a lucrative business. There are peaks and valleys of clientele within the year and you need to make sure that everything should be covered financially,” she warns.

Cream floor-length tent dress by MILKA QUIN

PEEK-A-BOO

A slice of skin is testament to alluring femininity


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Milka admits that she still has a lot to learn but she loves how she continuously creates and learns in a dynamic industry. And as a responsible designer she is aiming for sustainability of the pieces she makes. Her passion for design and love is expertly backed up with superior technical skills and knowledge of her craft. Add to that her belief in her unique point-of-view and a business acumen that is much needed in any thriving atelier, there is no doubt Milka Quin will achieve her goals, maybe even sooner than she thinks.

 

 


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