ONE of the country’s foremost menswear designers, Anthony Nocom, is wading into womenswear territory. It was no less than the formidable Tessie Sy-Coson, now vice chairman of SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), who persuaded him to take the plunge.
“In late 2017, Tessie Sy-Coson asked me to assist in the product development of The SM Store’s own Sleepwear line, specifically the higher-priced set made of charmeuse satin,” Nocom says. “I agreed to take on the task. It was a refreshing break from doing menswear, and as I have experience in merchandising, it gave me the opportunity to do womenswear, too.”
The Sleepwear category of the SM Woman label has been consistently enjoying brisk sales as the store provides an array of choices. Nocom was asked to work on a niche market, an “aspirational” line for women who want to feel sexy and luxurious. Hence, the use of satin fabric, which softly caresses your skin. Another challenge was to entice women ages 20 to 35.
“I began by restyling, changing proportions, selecting the prints and colors for both young and mature women. Not only that, we must not forget ‘The Forgotten Woman,’ those customers who are full-figured and want to feel sexy, too—at least in their own bedroom—and who can afford to splurge once they feel good in the clothes,” Nocom explains.
When athleisure and sleepwear became the “work-at-home’ clothing preferences in the lockdown, Nocom thought: Why not bring back the trend of ‘pajama’ and ‘lingerie’ dressing at home? With no events and parties to go to, why not make dressing at home different with caftans and loungewear?
“As it turned out, women have been looking for these types of clothing—loose and nothing hugging the body. They can wear pieces from the Loungewear line to go out to the grocery, see friends, entertain at home, wear it at a resort or their beach house. I knew then that I did right by going into womenswear,” says Nocom, who also made this new creative venture his way of coping with the loss of a nephew (non-Covid) and his pet dog during the quarantine.
Two or three collections are manufactured every month, based on the fabric print or color sourced and the seasonal items.
Depending on the market demands, a collection varies on camisole top/shorts or pants set; pajama shorts or pants set; nightshirt, robe, camisole dress, caftan and loungewear. Seasonal items are bridal pieces like sleepwear, lingerie and robes. The fabric is mainly charmeuse satin annd Tencel (a new man-made blend and sustainable fabric), cotton/rayon, and challis cotton.
“In designing ready-to-wear, it’s more of my gut feel: what the customer needs and what I can offer to the market. I do not meet and know the customer unlike in made-to-order. As for the caftan/loungewear, the inspiration comes from women I meet and their lifestyle,” Nocom shares. “The collections are available in select SM Stores and at www.thesmstore.com and www.shopsm.com.”
Nocom started his career at SM in 1981 as a layout artist of display cases at the selling floor. He worked on menswear house labels such as Newsmakers and Men’s Club then as a Men’s Jr. merchandiser for the Boutique Square (a store within a store retail concept of local and foreign designers’ RTW including shoes, bags, socks, small leathergoods, fashion accessories, etc.) and worked on the local RTW house label, Designer Lines.
In 1989, his eponymous label was launched. “According to fashion insiders, my label is the only men’s ready-to-wear-line in the history of the local retail business. I introduced to the RTW market RTW fully lined tailor quality jackets/pants and a line of shirts, knitted tops, seasonal outer jackets, and walking shorts—a full line of wardrobe needs for men. It was at that time that Filipino men were coming to terms with dressing up and being aware of fashion. My fashion line does not call attention; it’s contemporary and not too trendy,” Nocom says.
So, why the shift to womenswear?
“I took the opportunity to work on womenswear because I want to try something different with my knowledge and exposure in retail merchandising. Initially, I had to adjust. With menswear, it is shirt/pants/jacket; in womenswear, there are more pieces—blouse, camisole, skirt/pants in different lengths, as well as the proportion of the garment,” explains Nocom, a past president of the Fashion and Design Council of the Philippines and recently appointed by current president JC Buendia as the elite group’s press secretary. “I still love menswear, and I miss designing for men. Now, if I have a fashion show, I can feature both, with the women’s collection in resortwear and sleepwear. And I would love to have a sleepwear line for men under my label.”