Curating statement pieces and travel finds

In the Manila retail landscape dominated by a few chains and department stores, shopping for unique fashion finds can often be a challenge. So style hunters resort to creative tactics, like stocking bargain buys on trips abroad (those H&M accessories may be cheap but chances are you won’t have many others wearing them) or at the other end of the spectrum, indulging in big ticket designer purchases. Aiming to combine accessible retail and foreign designer brands is recently-opened store Cura V, where its style-savvy owners have done the shopping for you.

The barely two-month-old boutique at Power Plant Mall offers an edited selection of statement jewelry, bags and home accessories. Cura V (which means “Curated by Five” in Latin) is run by a mix of five women from different backgrounds: interior designer Trisha Bermudez-Calma, jewelry designer Nicole Whisenhunt, shoe-turned-bag designer Emi Jorge, restaurateur Camille Ongpauco and fashion-phile and full-time mom Kai Lim. They are united by a common passion: scouring local and foreign shores to unearth fresh finds for the store’s collection.

Party of five: Emi Jorge, Trish Calma, Nicole Whisenhunt, Camille Ongpauco, and Kai Lim have done the shopping for you.

“It is a combined effort to introduce new and exciting things to the market. There is also a void that we wanted to fill when it comes to lifestyle stores, to offer designs that are both modern and elegant, fun and functional, and affordable,” says Calma, an interior designer alum of De la Salle–St. Benilde and The New York School of Interior Design, and owner of now-defunct home store Beyond Bamboo.

Pieces to covet include graphic punk rock jewelry from Fallon, favorite of New York stylists and editors, and sold at top retailers worldwide including Barneys, ASOS, and Lane Crawford. Fallon designer Dana Lorenz has collaborated with designers like Proenza Schouler for runway, and occasionally does capsule collections for retailers like Opening Ceremony and J. Crew.

Meticulously arranged on the shelves are luxurious home decor such as Voluspa scented candles and Michele D’Albert’s rock and roll collection of lacquer trays, bowls and decorative boxes.

Solea designer Emi Jorge, who launched bags under her own label in New York last year, offers modern artisan clutches and minaudieres inspired by textures and landscapes of nature. One-off jewelry and bags from local designers Joyce Makitalo, Joanique, and Natalya Lagdameo are selling quickly and went flying off the shelves within the first month. The store is also dedicated to under-the-radar brands discovered on their travels, including Chan Luu, which offers leather wrap bracelets for men and 13 Lucky Monkey, a men’s jewelry line specializing in modern biker jewelry and dominated by skull pieces. “The designs we offer are very different from what is offered locally,” says Calma.

Bags from Gabriel-Martel and Joanique utilize unique organic shapes and materials like shell and shagreen. Whisenhunt is also launching her first collection of beautifully beaded evening bags here, a store exclusive. Oft-changing merchandise and their keen interest in emerging local talent make this an exciting space to watch.

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Cura V is located at 2nd level, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center.