Lesley Mobo all set to soar at Arena and design a new spirit for Ghost

There are two things looming large in the calendar of London-based designer Lesley Mobo: There’s his gala on Oct. 29 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena and in November he assumes his post as Ghost’s creative director.

For those unfamiliar, Ghost is a fashion label which reached its zenith in popularity in the ‘90s when it presaged the boho trend that would soon take over every magazine and Sienna Miller’s wardrobe in the early to mid aughties.

Juggling multiple projects — Lesley continues to helm his own eponymous label — the gala, a project of Kaye Tinga which honors the Lightomorrow Project with Save the Children Foundation, is set to be one of the biggest shows this year.

According to Ariel Lozada, the show’s director, “The Lightomorrow Project is a tech-enabled Education For All program whose main goal is to make quality education accessible and affordable to the underprivileged by using technological innovations that make education inexpensive.”

Lesley Mobo stands for modernity, spontaneity, a sense of appropriateness and a sense of proportion in everything, says director Ariel Lozada.

The gala celebrates the designer’s vision and the program’s mission.

“Lesley stands for  modernity, spontaneity, a sense of appropriateness and a sense of proportion in everything,” Lozada remarks, after a late night pre-production meeting. “It will always be about subtle construction and quality which is a very European discipline.”

The collection pays homage to the designer’s aesthetic and his current frame of mind.

“As Lesley would put it, this collection is about construction and quality with focus on sugar white, charcoal black, wheat and biscuit nude color palettes,” Ariel asserts. “As always hints of couture detail defies time. The overall look is quite luxurious but with a sense of fun, freshness and wearability. Thematically the collection explores easier shapes with a classic look but incorporating a contemporary edge to it.”

Though the exclusive gala dinner is designed to be intimate, the 500 invited guests will be dining in the concert venue’s more than ample space. Think soaring heights and expansive margins.

“I wasn’t banking on the massive structure of the Arena but its height is definitely working for the kind of set-up I was thinking of while in the brewing stage of this project,” Ariel remarks.

No surprise there as guests are expecting a big show from one of the country’s brightest stars.

The STAR had a chat with the designer on the upcoming show, new job jitters and learning to breathe.

PHILIPPINE STAR: What is life like now? New job, new collection in the works...

LESLEY MOBO: I’m currently busy with the new collection for spring/summer 2013 which I will showcase in Manila on the 29th of October at the SM Arena.

How would you describe your tenure at Jasmine di Milo?

My time with Jasmine di Milo was an interesting and exciting time in my career. Jasmine and I started the company in our 20s, with a managing director from Harrods, and slowly built the brand from scratch. Even though it was a ready-to-wear brand it was fully armed with an amazing squad of the most accomplished technicians in the world. We had pattern cutters, seamstresses and designers all working from big houses like Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Armani, Chanel, Chloe, Balmain, John Galliano, etc. Working with a group of very experienced and talented people like them is probably the most rewarding gift you can ever receive if you are a fashion designer.

What did you learn — about fashion, about yourself, about the business that helped shaped who you are today?

I really believe that we are living in a world of true magic. Anyone truly committed to life never stops walking and there is a language out there that everyone understands. It is the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with genuine purpose and love, and of something desired and believed in. What I have learned from this industry — or life in general — and the past is that no matter what happens it all works together to bring us to this moment.  And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new, just the way you want it.

How did Ghost happen?  

By the time this happened, I was already busy working on my own label Mobo, which I co-founded a few years ago with my business partner Michael Bowden. First season of trading, it’s been featured in Italian Vogue by Sara Maino and is currently sold mainly in Germany, Greece, Japan, Russia,  Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Then the Ghost opportunity presented itself.

How would you describe the brand?

Ghost is getting set for a revamp under its new owner, and ready for an extensive international expansion plan for which my agent approached me. The British brand was acquired by its new owner Touker Suleyman, also owner of the British brand Hawes & Curtis, and his management team. The operation and sales will be headed by Lainey Sherida and they needed a creative person with extensive luxury retail experience so I am the new addition to this very exciting team. My job is to direct the creative and main design aspect of the collection each season for the brand so I am absolutely delighted to take this new challenge. We are all here as a team to identify today’s Ghost woman.

To be the main designer for Ghost is definitely an exciting opportunity but it is also a very challenging one. The brand is very well known for the women it dressed — Naomi Campbell, Liv Tyler, Emma Thompson, supermodel Helena Christensen and Jennifer Aniston — capturing ethereal femininity, and a chic and modern British luxury feel. I want to embrace this. Paying homage is one thing but you need to bring it into the future. A modern viewpoint is what I want to give: I want it to be relevant to the modern-day woman... It’s crucial for future success. I love the idea of instantness in women’s clothing, something I have mastered for eight years working with our team at Jasmine di Milo in Harrods.  

For me this time, it’s important to be able to create and be open-minded and explore that other kind of lightness and softness that is unmistakably Ghost.

How will these changes reflect who you are and your aesthetic?

It will be a gentle introduction towards femininity and softness — an irreverent and offbeat approach to my design practice but one which will not change my aesthetic completely because I will still continue designing my own label Mobo.

What does it feel like starting anew with this label? I’ve read that Ghost has had its share of difficulties.

I love a new challenge. I thought of all of that, but you’ve got to see beyond it. Anyone with a good fashion knowledge and a sense of history will know what there is to work with. Ghost was founded in 1984 and defined the ’90s effortless, unstructured chic. It was the precursor to what became the modern “Boho” look that defined the early 2000s. Then there was the strong vintage and Victorian flavor that would influence other designers such as Stella McCartney. It has a huge legacy — so much to get yourself involved in.

What are the first steps in taking over a brand?

I will officially start working with the brand mid of November 2012.

First and foremost, I really wanted to take it back to its distinctly English roots. You also have to be positive about it all, you have to come up with a plan on how you can contribute and create a sustainable future for the label.

You have a huge gala coming up. How far along are you with the production?

It’s doing very well. I’m just putting final touches to it and I am very excited to be working and collaborating with a pool of very creative people like Ariel Lozada, Noel Manapat, John Batalla and Patrick Galang, all chaired by the wonderful Kaye Tinga.

Can you tell me a little bit about what we’re going to see?

I did a show a few years ago for Bravo Filipino for the Ayala group of companies exploring purely on masculine tailoring.  This time I decided to explore the purest soft flipside of my aesthetic. It is Inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring  but set in England with its constant history of pleasure.  A lot of lace (new and vintage), broderie Anglaise with tulle and mixed and overlaid with latex and rubber. I really like the idea of revisiting the “golden couture days” but in a more modern, relevant, subtle and classic romance.

How does this show reflect the state you’re in — in terms of work, life, love?

I’d like to think that I have matured a lot spiritually in the past few years. I felt resurrected, happy, content, alive,  full of love, wild  and free, almost like a child but with a difference. The difference is that I have freedom with wisdom instead of innocence. I was able to break my mind away from domestication, become free again, and heal my mind.

Just to be, to take a risk and enjoy life, is all that matters. I say no when I want to say no, and yes when I want to say yes. We have the right to be true.

What does it mean to show in your home after so many years abroad?

Well, first and foremost we are supporting a very important charity which is very dear to my heart and to my friends. But much of my career so far has been spent working for brands, so this is an opportunity for fashion enthusiasts to see what excites me personally in my own creative perspective.

What does Manila mean to you now, having come from a small town and lived in London over the last decade?

I still have a lot of friends, family and relatives in Manila/Philippines. It will always have a special place for me as it was also the scene of my earliest exposure to the fashion world.

Does the opinion of people at home still matter?

Although I have lived in England for more than a decade now it is still a vital part of the work of a fashion designer to keep abreast of worldwide consumer attitudes and opinions and so I have to regard Manila as important as anywhere else.

What about family? I remember meeting your mom at an event. Is she a big supporter of yours? Does she cheer for you at your big shows?

From my earliest efforts in fashion, my parents proved to be a massive support even making the long journey to England to see my graduation from Saint Martin’s. It is always a risk taking up a career in any creative industry but they never doubted that it was the right path for me and so I have been so pleased that I am able to share a special show/project like this for them to experience as well.

What makes you happiest now?

Walking. I walk a lot to regulate my breathing. Because I believe that  breath is the bridge from the body to the soul, from the body to the mind. If you can regulate breathing you have power over mind. Walking is like having orgasm in reference to meditation and higher levels of  consciousness.