Bench Fashion Week 2022: Jenni Contreras x Human
Featuring 70s-inspired street style silhouettes
Bench Fashion Week is back in full swing with a three-day celebration of the best in Filipino fashion and talent. Kicking off its holiday presentation is fashion designer Jenni Contreras, a Bench Design awardee, who’s collaborating with one of Suyen Corporation’s brands, Human.
For this collaboration, the Problem Studios founder and designer translates her fascination with her parents’ 70’s fashion to the brand’s street style silhouettes. “I was working on this collection during the height of the pandemic. Before all that I was living in Manila but I went back to our home in Laguna,” shares Jenni. “One of my favorite things to do when I’m there is to rummage through my parents' old photo albums in our attic. And I saw a whole lot of photos from the ‘70s through the ‘80s. That's mainly how I came about the ‘70s inspiration. It's a tribute to my parent's youth.”
Aside from her inspiration, the 23-year old designer talks about working with Human, the defining elements in her collection, and her fascination for slasher films. Read all about her newest collection and how it differs from her past capsules below:
What did you like most about working with Human?
It's always quite challenging to do collaborations because you have to take to account the other brand's aesthetics and target market. But the challenge and exploring a different perception are the things that I like the most when it comes to this collaboration. And sort of peeping into the world of Human was such a fun experience for me
How do you feel about collaborating with Human? What was your reaction?
When I was first approached by Human to do a summer collection for them, I immediately jumped for it. I loved their collaborations with Proudrace and Strong Village, and collaborating with them was something in my bucket list. I was really excited.
What are the pieces that define this collection as a whole?
My favorite pieces are the track shorts and the collared tees mainly because these pieces are the ones that I saw my dad was wearing in the ‘70s in the photos that I collected as inspiration for this collection.
How is this collection different from your past capsules?
For one, this collection doesn't revolve around sex. There was this time during fitting, director Robby Carmona looked at my collection and said "Is this Jenni's collection? Parang hindi Jenni." Haha!
In the collection, what are the most distinct elements that are very true to your own brand?
I like a certain darkness to my work. And although the pieces give off a fun and youthful vibe, there is a smidge of darkness in the backstory of the collections. Much like this collaboration for Human, one of the inspirations that I have is slasher movies. Particularly ones from the mid ‘70s to early ‘80s. I love a good vintage summer camp slasher flick.