Art in motion

Designer Hannah Barrera brings modern Philippine fashion to Milan

- REY ROBES ILAGAN

There is a certain calmness to Hannah Barrera—quiet but unmissable, like the stillness before a curtain rises.

I first met her in what must be one of the most fashionable settings imaginable: vintage shopping in Milan, Italy. The shop, Offbeat Vintage and More, is a treasure trove overflowing with Missoni zigzags, Armani tailoring, snakeskin top-handle bags, emerald-toned silk skirts, and more.

I was admiring an almost comical number of sunglasses—drawer after drawer of tinted lenses and sculptural frames from Gucci, Saint Laurent, Prada; you name the brand, they have it—when Vicky Veloso-Barrera introduced me to her daughter, Hannah.

They were in animated discussion with the store owner about how a clerk mistakenly sold a vintage Thierry Mugler piece for far less than its worth. A collective sigh filled the room; even those who do not own Mugler understand the gravity of losing a piece of fashion history. But beyond the price tag, it was the irreplaceability that mattered, the feeling of holding a slice of an era, perfectly preserved in seams and structure.

A few moments later, as Hannah and I walked through the narrow calm of Via Degli Arcimboldi toward the grand swell of the Duomo, she told me that if she had to choose one word to describe her aesthetic, it would simply be: art.