Andrea Centeno
It is not easy for a Filipina fashion designer to make it big in the competitive global fashion scene. Then along comes Tracy. Manila-based streetwear designer and milliner, Tracy Dizon, just broke the barriers as she showcased her collection oozing with Southeast Asian pride at last year’s Fashion Week Brooklyn.
Winning Collection – Miss Hanoi: La Douleur Exquise
In September 2017 Tracy Dizon won the Rise Art & Design Fashion Designer Competition in New York City. The contest featured many talented NYC contenders, which made the competition quite steep. Tracy’s Southeast Asian-inspired fashion collection shone simply brighter than the rest. This landed her a whole fashion show slot at the Fashion Week Brooklyn (FWBK)—one of the most prominent fashion events in the world. She graced the FWBK runway with her quirky, fresh and cultural Spring and Summer 2018 collection.
Tracy Dizon’s fashion collection titled, Miss Hanoi: La Douleur Exquise, embraces inspiration from her travels to the bustling city of Hanoi, Vietnam.
The collection is a true feast for the eyes as it features a grand mix of hues and spectacular traditional Vietnamese patterns. What also stood out in Tracy’s winning collection is the Southeast Asian ethnography intricately woven into the design of each piece. Each ensemble tells a different story, but it all roots from the same concept inspired by Ao Dai dresses, Vietnamese fabrics, historical Vietnamese icons, and even the country’s military uniforms.
A whirlwind of fashion-filled adventure
“It was an amazing Eat Pray Love moment for my designing career.”
Prior to creating her own collection, she had gone through personal trials, which she describes as “blessings in disguise”. Tracy shares how she picked herself up from heartbreak on how she had to go on a sudden hiatus from her fashion designing career after her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. As she focused on her son’s on-going battle, Tracy kept her passion for fashion.
She carried on, pursuing her dreams with zeal, optimism, cheerful spirit and a knack for bold designs like no other designers dare to do. For Fashion Week Brooklyn Tracy flew thousands of miles across the globe from Manila with all her hefty baggage, full of fashion equipment, in tow. Tracy Dizon impressed the FWBK team and other artists with her professionalism, punctuality and most of all, her burning willpower to show her culturally charged collection to the world. Her struggles and hard work all paid off with acclaim from the audience and international fashion experts alike.
Tracy currently directs her very own fashion brand called Tiara by Tracy Dizon. Her brand produces fascinators and hats she has carefully designed and her VIP clientele includes both local and international personalities, like Philippine fashion icon and socialite, Tessa Prieto Valdes, actress Maxene Magalona, Tokyo-based fashion editor Misha Janette, and Sex and the City Costume Designer, Patricia Field. Thanks to her quirky, eye-catching designs, she was also featured in a number of popular Japanese magazines, including SOEN Magazine, ViVi Magazine and WWD Japan.
Fashion’s Power to Charm the Global Audience and Empower Asian Women
Winning and showcasing her Miss Hanoi: La Douleur Exquise collection in New York has not ended her amazing fashion journey. She is scheduled for another international fashion show in Toronto, Canada and in New York Fashion Week this year. Another accomplishment is having her collection featured in the cover page editorial story of Creativ Magazine, a well-known US-based art magazine.
Tracy aims to proudly promote the astonishing beauty of Southeast Asian cultural roots with her designs by bringing her collection to the wider world. With her sharp eyes, street style, and skilled hands, she will continue finding stepping-stones to help her empower women the world over through her fashion.
Chief Editor
Guest Writer
Marj Ostani
