what happened last year - thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is primarily a very American holiday, but having been raised in a city in the Philippines where American Baptist missionaries took good roots, we have been celebrating it all our lives. And besides, thanksgiving is such a universal celebration these days...


So it's only natural that we prepped up our Cambodian home for this holiday. I had an event organized for Guerlain Paris the month before so, I ended up with tons of scrap metal that I turned into two outdoor lounges.



We made and screen printed special throw pillows for the dinner with the names of our guests and guests-to-be (Obama and Hillary were too busy that evening)


We set our table with sculptures from Bill Bensley's Fantastical Creatures Exhibit and some bounty from the harvest (harvest at the supermarket, that is). We also made special placemats and coasters which stated things we were thankful for...



By dusk, the al fresco corner of the house was ready and so was dinner!


Me, my wife Faith, Don, Sheree (fresh from Newcastle, flown in especially for the Wanderlust fashion shoot) American authors Shannon and Jason and of course, Liz!

Our menu included stuffed chicken (turkey was too darn hard to find in Cambodia!), roast potatoes, buttered peas and veggies, battered fish, prawn cakes, pasta, stuffed pumpkin dessert, cream cheese cake, etc... Jason and Shannon brought a super cool drink that they concocted themselves!


Inside, we had our tree set up too for the holidays...


Guests got to bring their pillows as souvenirs!


A few days later, we had dinner with some new friends... Max, who's Vietnamese-French, Rachel, from the US, who's opening a boutique next door to us at the Alley West and Ruben from Mexico.


We definitely love welcoming friends to our home!

family portraits

Our not-so-little boy came home to Cambodia last month with Nanie, my mom and my sister and made our holidays the best we've ever had. It was our first Christmas and New Year altogether so we had to do our portraits!


My son, Freedom, all grown up!


The two of us doing a Lacoste ad!


Family snaps

Our Family! From left: my mom Love, my sister Love Grace, Don - the high priest of Cambodian avant garde fashion, my wife Faith, our son Freedom and Nanie.

sweat in black and white

Had a great time last Saturday shooting for Don's autumn / winter 2009 - 2010 collection and you can just imagine how hot it was, in the middle of the Cambodian summer, to wear jackets and layered clothes. Well, at least that's how Serge and Elodie, our models felt, but it was definitely a blast doing the shoot... even with sweat rolling down their cheeks and all...



























Our models were Elodie from Paris and Serge from Russia who were really cool and game even if the airconditioner in the studio was on the brink of a revolution.



This is just a preview of what Don has n store for the Philippine Fashion Week in May. This collection will be available shortly after at POETRY by the Alley West.

siem reap fashion week

Okay, so I guess I've exaggerated the post title, but we're almost getting there. A couple of weeks ago, the posh Arts Lounge of Hotel de la Paix hosted a fashion show of capsule collections by celebrated French-African designer Eric Raisina and Filipino avant garde designer Don Protasio which coincided with the opening of an art exhibition of Paris-based artist Thav Savann.




Backstage with the designers - Eric andDon


Don's bird series - he printed these images of birds and feathers in our workshop. A French model wore this ensemble with a muslin scarf and a cork necklace


On Vincent: Printed stripe hooded tee, scarf and cotton pants


On Cambodian artist Em Riem: Jesrsey shirt, printed vest and cotton skirt pants with suspenders

On Brewster: Hooded sweatshirt with printed vest and grey pants


On Soo Young (from Korea): printed halter dress with printed muslin scarf, On Kaoru (from Japan, via New York): printed dress and cotton necklace. Don sells his designs exclusively at the One Shop and One Gallery here in Cambodia and Backstage in Serendra in Manila.


Eric Raisina's funky and colorful silk-based fashion... Eric is originally from Madagascar but set up base here in Siem Reap after studying fabric design in Paris. He regularly goes back to Paris as he designs fabrics exclusively for fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix.


On Christian Larsson (from Norway): silk fur coat, silk fur hat and metallic pants


On Srey Pov: silk kaftan and silk fur hat. Would you believe this Cambodian model is 5 months pregnant???


French models galore...


And yes, the French start young...


On Heidi (from Australia): silk organza dress with silk scarf


On Barry (from Singapore): beaded silk Chinoise top and pants


the runway...


Don with New York designer Elizabeth Kiester


And with friends from all over...

So sleepy old Siem Reap is transforming itself from a dusty old backpacker town to a slice of third world cosmopolis... but don't worry, the character is still there!

wanderlust

Another highly creative designer has recently made a big move from the bright lights of Paris, London and New York and made the dusty old town of Siem Reap her new home. Now our lives will never be the same again...


Her name is Elizabeth Kiester - former creative director of LeSportSac and Abercrombie & Fitch where she has elevated the brands through her youthful designs and innovative collaborations with artists and designers such as Stella McCartney and Toki Doki's Simone Legno. She has also been a stylist for brands like BCBG Max Azria, Cynthia Rowley, GAP, Banana Republic, and was also fashion director for glossies like YM, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Mademoiselle and JANE.

With an impressive portfolio like that, moving to a third world country to spread fashion would probably the last thing on anyone's sane mind.


But she did, and in a span of weeks, she has transformed Siem Reap into an exciting new destination for alternative fashion through her bright new store by the alley at the old market area- wanderlust. A fitting name for a fashion nomad.


I did a photo shoot for her for an article for my friend Don and for use in an international inflight magazine.


Modeled by Sheree, her clothes and accessories are bold, fun and awash with color. She also has a sombre and edgy line of avant garde pieces.


Being interviewed by Don, Elizabeth told us that she originally went to Cambodia for a holiday and to do volunteer work for an NGO, but ended up falling in love with the place. So she packed up all her stuff in New York and changed our lives for the better.


Cool, vibrant and always fun, her designs and her shop are a big source of inspiration for us!


Her shop also has a cool lounge on the far end littered with fluffy graphic pillows.


Her bedroom on the second floor is a play of black and white and a burst of luscious red here and there. A true homage to New York loft living.




Winding down after the shoot... we had fun!

Elizabeth and Don are cooking up a fashion show soon by the alley... so this is just the start of something big!