#LifeLokal: Pamela Ng Studio clothes to make you feel 'like you are always on vacation'
Launching a startup during a global pandemic is challenging, but it's not impossible.
Despite her hesitancy to fulfill her lifelong dream of creating a clothing line, Pamela Ng's passion for comfortable clothing reigned supreme. Her thriving ready-to-wear resortwear brand, Pamela Ng Studio, is inspired by her love for the sun, sand, and sea.
"I started lang during the pandemic making face masks lang. And then gusto ko na gumawa ng clothes but medyo natakot ako noon," she told PhilSTAR L!fe over Zoom.
But Pamela found purpose through her clothing line. She wanted to share the same feeling of happiness and calmness every time she walks along the shore with the ocean breeze on her face. She wants her clients to feel "like you are always in vacation at your favorite place."
"Most of my clothes are very colorful. Colorful, flexible and free-spirited. Kasi for me, it really signifies—when you’re traveling or when you’re at the beach or you are in your favorite place—that you are at peace," she said.
When did you first know you wanted to be an entrepreneur or a designer?
I have always been into fashion at a very young age. Sobrang arte ko with clothes and I always love expressing myself through the clothes that I wear. Before, I was working in corporate, and then one day, I don’t know what gotten into me, parang gusto kong mag fashion design. In 2016, I enrolled in a fashion school, Fashion Institute in the Philippines. Fast forward ngayon meron na akong brand.
Can you tell us about your designs?
Pamela Ng Studio always creates simple statement pieces that make you feel your best—like you are always in vacation at your favorite place.
In our brand identity, I wrote, "You feel relaxed, energized and ready to have some fun, pieces are made with perfect balance of leisure and adventure in mind. So the brand draws inspiration from beautiful places we’ve been through and places we dreamed about. It celebrates the little details that make places and pieces feel special to us."
So that’s why if you noticed, most of my clothes are very colorful. Colorful, flexible and free-spirited. kasi for me, it really signifies—when you’re traveling or when you’re at the beach or you are in your favorite place—that you are at peace.
There are so many competitive brands in fashion. How do you make your brand stand out from the rest?
I think how my clothes make the wearer feel extra special. Like my clothes, for me, are very versatile. Minsan you want to feel or wear something nice lang because you rarely go out. May mga casual like tank tops tas meron din sets na for partying. Meron din slip dresses for when you go to the salon or to the mall to do some errands. Yung goal ko is to make the wearer feel extra special, extra nice.
The prices of your items are affordable. Why is that so?
One of the reasons why I made a semi affordable brand—di naman din siya too pricey, di naman din siya too low—it’s because when I was first started working, parang nagti-tipid ako. I think we can relate to that you medyo bago palang after college. So parang ako it is so hard to find great quality pieces na affordable. And since I am a designer din talaga, nakikita ko minsan na parang ang daya na bakit ganun, ang simple lang nung [item] pero parang sobrang mahal. Ako kasi gusto ko talaga na ayun, anyone can wear my pieces, pero hindi siya sobrang nagbe-break ng wallet.
What is in store for the future? Are you producing more collections?
Yes! More formal wear. Right now I am really focusing on ready-to-wear especially since the pandemic parang ayaw ko muna ng one-on-one like face-to-face. For me, there is no limit naman. I’ll always keep creating.
You mentioned earlier that you want your customers to feel nice whenever they go out with your clothes. Do you have anything else to add to that? What are your favorite comments from your clients?
My goal is for my pieces would be something na you would wear on special occasions or parang alam mo yung parang pag feel mo oh my god this is IG-worthy tapos kuwari this piece is IG-worthy tapos isasama mo with the clothes parang ganun yung pieces ko.
sinabi niya na parang I deserve the hype parang feel niya kasi hindi pa masyadong sikat yung brand pero I deserve all the hype and ang nagsabi nito is a customer kasi alam mo yun para siyang para siyang something na parang pag nadiscover mo parang oh my god parang where have you been all along parang ganun parang ganun yung approach niya tas sobrang I don’t know for some reason yung statement niya nay un parang kinilig ako kasi parang feel ko hindi pa ko masyadong nadidiscover as a designer as a brand
