Local designer Rosanna Ocampo makes it to international ad campaign

When the regional Asian campaign for French bag label Lancel hits print this month, you’ll find Chinese model Zhou Xun, Chanel’s inter–national muse, garbed in luxe labels like Lanvin, Philip Lim and, here’s the big news, local designer Rosanna Ocampo.

Ocampo, a designer best known for her flirty dresses with perennial hints of resortwear, has been a constant YStyle fave. This year, the young designer has so far made waves on the international circuit, nabbing a place in the Lancel ad campaign shot in Hong Kong — as well as the Australian Lancel campaign.

“My London-based hotshot cousin photographer John Paul Pietrus was asked to do the ad campaign for Lancel in Hong Kong,” Ocampo tells YStyle, “and he was casually telling me about it over Christmas break.”

Pietrus, a Pinoy photographer, has shot the covers for Vogue UK, Korea and China featuring supermodels Linda Evangelista and rage-a-holic Naomi Campbell.

“He is extremely well versed in the industry since he deals with the best glossies and fashion houses worldwide,” says Ocampo.

When Pietrus went to Manila and viewed Ocampo’s atelier a while back, he was impressed with the collection and ordered pieces for his friends back in London. “That was enough for me!” Ocampo exclaims. “What I did not know was that he had already secretly proposed some of my clothes that he had seen in my shop, found pics of it in my website and sent it to Lancel!”

Ocampo’s pieces found favor with the international crew shooting the campaign. “The model even asked to keep one of the three outfits,” she says.

Ocampo has been looking to international shores of late, after presenting her collection to multi-brand conglomerate Bonvincini, known for carrying Fendi, Stella McCartney, Dolce & Gabbana among others (“Which went well,” she says modestly of the meeting) in Tuscany late last year and winning a place in Malaysian-based group Tongue in Chic’s Next Young Designer South East Asia 2010.

Ocampo recently partnered with bag designer Rocio Olbes for a new brand, dubbed — naturally — Ocampo Olbes. “We will be launching it internationally and premiering it locally this May,” she says.