Dress in code
It’s the blazer that’s been blazing trails.
At just 19 years old, Fifth Code designer Lorenz Namalata has had his made-to-order blazers modeled in various teen magazines and worn by a lot of his own peers. The blazer has been his own staple article of clothing ever since, a tribute to the undone cool of the ‘50s where menswear meant sporting a blazer to top your outfit off with.
Now on the brink of the brand’s second anniversary on Oct. 10, Namalata resurfaces with a new collection, which he says, aims to veer away from the usual preppy style his blazers are often associated with. “I wanted to make people see that wearing blazers shouldn’t all be that serious and stuck up,” he explains. “Fifth Code’s all about accommodating other styles, be it preppy, street or edgy, so we make sure to incorporate these in our collections.”
Entitled The Good Life, Namalata’s new collection also references a recent vacation in the US. “When I visited California and saw the scene in Venice Beach and Sunset Boulevard, everybody was really effortlessly dressed up,” he recalls. “That street and skater lifestyle was also a big inspiration for being young and carefree. And Fifth Code’s mantra is ‘not giving a f*ck and at the same time really giving a f*ck.’”
Fifth Code’s new look book does attest to such, with solid-color and two-tone blazers matched with a more casual getup of either dark jeans or khaki shorts, dirty sneakers, and a floral panel cap.
Peering into the brand’s crystal ball, Namalata points out that the brand will definitely grow with him as he plans to master his craft some more after college. “I plan to include different articles of clothing and make it a haven for menswear aficionados,” he adds. “I’m just really taking it one step at a time and making sure that before I go all out and have my own store and such, I have the skills to back it up.”
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Find more information on Fifth Code at www.fifth-code.com
Photos by Nicholai Go
Styled by Lorenz Namalata
Hair and makeup by Isabelle Dee
Modeled by George Schulze, Patrick Soriano, Carlos Roberts, Erick Merioles, Mark Dimalanta
