No such thing as ‘tita style’ at the new Iora
Consider a woman in denim culottes, a crisp shirt, and white sneakers — is she an influencer in her early 20s hamming it up for an #OOTD, or a well-traveled working mom in her 40s, off to catch up with amigas at the latest farm-to-table concept over Sunday brunch?
I bring this up with Iora managing partner Anabelle Cuazon after the Singaporean ready-to-wear brand’s launch of its new look and casual line Lalu. During the event, permutations of the abovementioned look were styled onto Instagram vignettes. (We have last year’s normcore trend to thank for trumping comfort, a choice that women of all ages are now happy to make.) Anabelle sums up what I surmised about the datedness of pitting tita fashion versus bagets fashion: “A certain style can now move across age groups.”
With fashion as a telltale sign of the times, today’s woman is no longer confined by a timeline of how she must live her life and she’s not allowing herself to be put in a box. “Just like me. I am a wife, a mom, a businesswoman, a fitness fanatic, a friend, and because of these different roles, you end up having a wide variety of clothing to fit each role. Women are more fit nowadays, too, and because of that they become more comfortable with different fashion trends,” Anabelle says. “Because of social media and how one can now freely create their own identity and uniqueness, people are now less judgmental when it comes to whether what you’re wearing is age-appropriate. As long as you can carry it, age doesn’t matter.”
Now in its 20th year, Iora is moving with the times. But how about its loyal customer base which values brand for their go-to workwear? “The brand’s new younger look doesn’t limit but instead broadens our market.” Proof is Anabelle’s co-managing partner Monette Garcia who dons a different colorway of an ensemble worn by a model inside Iora’s latest lookbook. The model wore sneakers while Monette donned ankle-strap pumps and both look great in the same outfit.
As for social media’s collateral damage on our spending habits? “Let’s face it, most women don’t want to be seen wearing the same thing twice and end up splurging on their wardrobe. I’m truly guilty of that,” Anabelle admits, but with the world at her fingertips, today’s shopaholic is wiser. “Gone are the days of impulse buying. Before, I used to buy particular pieces in different colors as long as the style suits me. Now, I take into consideration other things like uniqueness and how it can easily suit the other fashion pieces that I already have in my closet.”
With Iora’s revamp is a price adjustment set for a younger clientele, but don’t sales just make you feel giddy in general, perhaps younger at heart? Items now range from P499 to P2,199. They also offer bundle sale offerings: Two pieces worth P799 each can be bought for P1,399. You can get two pieces worth P1,199 each for P1,999. The new collection will hit stores this week. Just in time for your seasonal closet refresh.
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Iora concept stores are located at SM Megamall, Glorietta and TriNoma with branches at SM Cebu and Ayala Center Cebu. Check out their Instagram @iora_philippines.
