In Alba, party resort goes beyond sundown
For nearly two decades, global fashion designer Rosanna Ocampo has become synonymous with an aesthetic that evokes images of travel, summer, and a bold femininity. Her latest collection, “Alba – After Dark, Before Dawn,” pushes the idea further—in the direction that leans towards a more intentional way of dressing, with colorful pieces that encapsulate the Filipina spirit.
Playing around with contrasts, textures, and the many fabrics in her arsenal, Ocampo layers rawness with polish, fluidity against structure—a collection that is carefree and alive. The kind that screams party resort, beaches, and fun under the sun.
In an exclusive with the designer herself, I asked Ocampo about her newest collection and the creative process behind it.
What was your process while designing this collection?
We knew we wanted to work with raffia again. It has become a key part of our vocabulary over the last five seasons and has worked incredibly well for us, but it was important that it never felt like we were simply repeating ourselves. We wanted to reimagine it and allow it to continuously evolve—just like us.
For Alba, that meant developing what we call “molten raffia,” a metallic raffia in liquid gold and silver that catches and shifts with the light. From there, the collection grew very instinctively. We layered it with paillettes, nets, and lace, playing with contrasts—something raw against something polished, fluid against structured, bare skin against volume.
I don’t really design a collection from beginning to end on paper. I need to see things on the body. We drape, cut, pin, change proportions, take things apart, and put them back together. A lot of Alba really came alive through that process.
How has your aesthetic evolved?
I think I’ve become more confident about editing myself, but also much clearer about who we are as a brand.
The codes are still there—femininity, color, texture, movement, sensuality, and always a sense of joy. But there’s more restraint now, even when the clothes are exuberant. And somewhere along the way, we found our sweet spot: party resort. Clothes for women who want to feel carefree, confident, and sensual—preferably with somewhere fabulous to go.
I think the woman has grown up with me. She still loves getting dressed; she still loves a party, but there’s an ease to her now. If there’s a special night on the horizon, we’d like to think we’re quite high on her invitation list.
Who and what influences you?
Travel has probably been my greatest influence. I’m endlessly inspired by islands, cities, hotels, beaches, old buildings, markets—even the way people dress for dinner in different parts of the world.
But women influence me most. How they move, how they wear clothes, what makes them feel beautiful. I’m much more interested in that than in designing for an abstract idea of a woman. And of course, the Philippines is always there. The color, the craft, the tropicality, the sense of celebration—it finds its way into my work even when I’m not consciously looking for it.
What type of woman do you want to dress?
A woman who enjoys being a woman. She’s confident, sensual, curious, and she likes to have fun with clothes. She doesn’t dress to disappear. But she also doesn’t need the clothes to give her confidence—she already has it. I’ve always said I design for the woman who walks into a room and is happy to be seen.
What are your favorite textiles to use?
I love textiles that have dimension and movement: raffia, lace, paillettes, embroidery, nets, anything that changes when it catches the light or when the woman moves. I also love mixing fabrics that theoretically shouldn’t belong together. Sometimes there are three or four different materials in one dress, but when they work together, you stop seeing the individual fabrics and just see the whole.
What have you learned working on this collection?
That sometimes you do your best work when you don’t have enough time to overthink it. Alba happened during a few whirlwind weeks, and there was something liberating about that. We had to trust our instincts, make decisions quickly, and keep moving. It reminded me that after doing this for so many years, instinct is actually experience. You have to learn when to stop questioning yourself and trust what you know.
What can we look forward to for the next seasons?
I want to keep pushing the tension we explored in Alba—between polish and freedom, glamour and ease, craft and sensuality. There’s so much more I want to explore with texture and with our own techniques, particularly raffia and the way we manipulate and layer materials.
But ultimately, I still want the clothes to feel joyful. I’m not suddenly going to become a minimalist. The party isn’t over. We’re just finding new ways to dress for it.
