The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021 - Issue 30

bitefashion K ris Scott operates under the Jug- ger Onate Couture brand. She uses couture as a design aesthetic and her collaboration with Jil & Jug Couture in Dallas, Texas, in the US. Her col- lection is inspired by the femininity of a wom- an which she describes as being empowered, beautiful and carefree for women who em- brace elegance and class yet are delicate like the flowers that abound us. The fabrics used and the silhouettes of each dress represent varied flowers, colours and foliage that imbibe the beauty of it. For every ruffle or embellish- ment, it highlights and celebrates the beauty of flowers which then encapsulates the feminin- ity of women. The headpieces worn with some of the dresses by the models were given a total couture en- semble. They represent the stigma, style and ovary of the flower which are responsible for propagating the pollens. Kris has been in the industry for a while; her pursuit of fashion started at the age of 16 as an apprentice for a local fashion designer in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. She then worked full time as a fashion designer and opened an atelier. Being a self-taught fashion designer for two decades, she admitted the learning doesn’t stop. Kris had to learn how to cut and make patterns and even how to sew which seemed innate and organic to her. Her main market is couture dresses for women. “However, I do get to make bespoke men’s suits or jackets now and then. Qualified as I am in the world of ‘fashion’ I don’t do styling or work as a stylist for other people.” She also doesn’t do trends or follow them. “I choose colours based on what my collection is and the message or story I want to convey through my dress collection as a whole.” The designer de- scribes her design process as somewhat magical. “In plan- ning for my collection, they always come to me in dreams, through nature mostly, a past event or one that’s currently happening. I see the beauty in everything no matter the bad situation or climate we have. Depending on the degree of style, the more intricate designs take weeks to finish, and remember, since it is couture, most of the components in the dresses are all meticulously done by hand.” Kris prefers smokey eye make-up for her models as it brings out the character of each dress. She revealed the women in her life were her biggest inspiration in fash- ion. Growing up she saw her mother, grandmother, sister, aunts and cousins, some of whom are a decade older than her, wear their dresses with pride and beauty. “Then we have the formidable in fashion, like Christian Dior, Alber Elbaz, Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Paul Poiret, who are some of my fashion heroes.” It was a pleasure meeting the fashion designers at the good cause fair fashion show competition, with gift bags and vi- brant models, a beautiful sentiment to the show. https://www.fdc-youngdesignerawards.com Jugger Onate Couture