Filipino fashion designer Lesley Mobo has worked in Paris and London. He spent his early years in Philippines before moving to London to study Fashion. After gaining a University degree in Biology and a scholarship offer from a Medical school, he instead turned his hands into fashion design. Graduating from Central St Martin's in 2002 with a First Class B.A. Honours Degree in Fashion, his final year collection titled "Maniac" was co-sponsored by Cerruti allowing him to use luxurious tailoring fabrics from Lanifico Fratelli Cerruti Italy. He also received the Colin Barnes Award for fashion illustration from Central St Martin's, a nomination in the Chartered Society of Designers Fashion Awards held in the British Natural History Museum, and participated in the ‘Fashion in Motion exhibition exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum from which his works were featured in the BBC News. In 2002 he was interviewed by John Galliano for the House of Christian Dior, and has also assisted for Clements Ribeiro and Cacharel. In 2002 he was scouted from college by Mohammed Al Fayed owner of Harrods Department store, he accepted a designer post and helped established a lifestyle brand in Harrods , London.
In 2003 he was promoted to Head Designer for the Jasmine Di Milo label working closely with its design team and Jasmine Al Fayed. As a pioneering member of the team he helped the brand to grow by showcasing its latest collection every season during Paris Fashion Week at the grand palatial Hôtel Ritz Paris and Villa Windsor, boasting more than 370 of the most sought-after stockists worldwide.
In 2004 he completed an M.A. in Fashion at Central Saint Martin's gaining a Distinction where he studied under the tutelage of the legendary professor Louise Wilson OBE . He showcased his M.A collection Obesity in the North Pole for Autumn/Winter 04-05 at London Fashion Week in February 2004, in Florence (winning the Emilio Pucci Award) and at the International Talent Support in Trieste where he caught the approving eyes of Renzo Rosso of Diesel, Ennio Capasa of Costume National and Raf Simons when he won the International Diesel Award In the same year he was invited by the world's most famous debating society, the Oxford Union, to present his Obesity in the North Pole collection to University of Oxford students. In 2005 he designed a sell-out capsule collection called Lesley Mobo by Diesel using Ingeo fibre which was manufactured by Staff International S.p.A., distributed and sold by Diesel in its major flagship stores in London, Milan, Paris, New York, Antwerp, Berlin and Tokyo.
In 2005 he designed men's underwear for Absolut Label 1879 Collection in collaboration with Absolut Vodka Sweden.
In 2008 he was invited by the University of the Arts London, to sit on their Industrial Advisory panel for the London College of Fashion, and in March he was honoured to be invited by the Ayala Corporation to participate in the Bravo festival , a tribute to Philippine Artists showcasing his Matavenero Collection. In the same year he created his underwear line for men and women in partnership with Bench, one of the country's fastest growing global brands in Asia and the Middle East.
In 2009 he started wholesaling his MOBO womenswear line in Paris during Paris Fashion Week with his clothes exhibited at Musée du Louvre, and was featured in Italian Vogue. The brand is sold in selected Independent boutiques and department stores in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Greece, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Riyadh, Dubai and Qatar.
After leaving Harrods, in 2011 he has been approached by L'Wren Scott to head its global design team and to help improve the trading position of its fashion brand and drive sales.
On 25 March 2012 ETC Channel announced Lesley Mobo as the finale judge of Project Runway Philippines Season 3, It was the most watched episode from Solar Entertainment Corporation, which handles the production, stated that the three-year gap from the previous season was due to "internal concerns" it needed to address as ETC moves from cable to a "free-to-air" format.
On 29 October 2012 he staged the biggest fashion show in South East Asia at the Mall of Asia Arena with a 45 piece collection for Cignal Digital TV and TV5 a premier satellite TV provider in South East Asia, together with its living/Lifestyle magazine channel, Colors TV Channel.
From 2012-2015 he consulted for both luxury and high street brands in the UK and Asia. In 2013-2015 he designed his T-shirt line "MOBO Lesley Mobo" Feel The Sea concept for Women, Men, Girls, Kids and Babies for the Japanese giant brand Uniqlo selling in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Australia and U.S.A. making it one of the best selling line of products in Uniqlo Stores for 4 years.
In 2014 he was listed in the 6th edition of Who's Who in Fashion published by Bloomsbury Publishing and Fairchild Books.
Early 2015 it was announced that the designer will be launching a new Underwear Collection and a perfume line for men and women with retail giant Suyen Corporation and Bench, the licensing deal is primarily marketed within Asia and the Middle East.
In 2015 he was hired by Touker Suleyman a British-Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur and investor to head the design for Ghost. Suleyman purchased UK fashion label Ghost after its owner, KCAJ, an Icelandic investment fund, cut investment following the collapse of the Icelandic banking market.[15] The acquisition safeguarded 142 jobs across the company. In the same year Mobo designed the "Salma dress" for James Bond "Spectre" worn by Léa Seydoux. The dress ranked 7th of "The best Bond girl fashion moment" of All Time both by American Vogue and British Vogue.[citation needed]
School of Fashion
On August 8, 2018,Lesley Mobo in partnership with Meridian International Business, Arts and Technology College (or MINT College), opened the School of Fashion. It is also offering scholarship grants hosted by the Red Charity Gala, an annual Philippine fashion event.[1]
Lesley Mobo Chocolates
In 2020, during the pandemic, the designer created a limited edition chocolates "Si Aida, Is Lorna, Is Fe". He collaborated with Filipino chocolate brand Auro and Chef Victor Magsaysay "an homage to the islands". Sold and distributed by Auro in the Philippines, Taiwan, Bahrain, Australia and Japan. Proceeds went to Auro's Agricultural programs in turning Filipino farmers into Agri-entrepreneurs.[citation needed]
His résumé includes work collaborations with Uniqlo , Diesel, Absolute Vodka Sweden, Zandra Rhodes, Bench Asia, Harrods, House of Fraser, Ghost London, Clements Ribeiro, Cacharel, Allegra Hicks, stylist Jane How, stylist Sarah Richardson and the presentation of design works for designers such as Donna Karan and Phoebe Philo for Chloe and Garrard & Co. formerly Asprey & Garrard whilst his works have been exhibited in the Asian Fashion Grand Prix in Osaka in 1998, the Future Map exhibition in The London Institute Mayfair Gallery, Fashion in Motion at the Victoria and Albert Museum London and Artistic Portfolio Congress, Lisbon in 2002, at the Stadt Museum for The Fashion Generation in Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf in 2005 and Denim - Fabric of Our Lives , The Hub Museum, Lincolnshire, England, 2008.[citation needed]
Mobo's designs has been worn by the Queen of Morocco, the First Lady of the Philippines and celebrities such as Lea Seydoux, Rihanna, Florence Welch of "Florence and the Machine", Anne Hathaway, Lady Gaga, Madonna, The artist formerly known as Prince, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Sienna Miller, Kirsten Stewart, Christina Aguilera, Sharon Stone, Kristen Bell, Taylor Momsen, Nicole Richie, Meg Ryan, Isla Fisher, Amy Adams, Zoe Saldana, Natalie Imbruglia, Kristen Bell and The Kardashians.
Appearances of Mobo's works in books and publications include Fifty by Diesel, 1 Brief, 50 Designers, 50 Solutions in Fashion Design Spain, Generation Mode book by Stadt Museum Germany, ArtReview Magazine London, British Journal of Photography, Another Magazine, Exit Magazine, Dazed & Confused magazine, i-d magazine, Self-Service Magazine Paris, Jalouse Paris, Elle Germany, Vogue Italia, Vogue Australia, Vogue Portugal, Vogue Spain, Vogue Japan, Teen Vogue USA, Studio Voice Japan, Crash Paris, Zoo Germany, Neo 2 Spain, Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair Italy, Zink New York, Pig Magazine Italy, Muse, Lips Thailand, Crash Magazine Paris, Flux, Maxi Germany, Elle Netherlands, Glamour Italy, La Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore, Citizen K, Le Vif Express, Purple magazine, and The Times, The Guardian, The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph newspapers in the UK.[citation needed]
Related Research Articles
Heidemarie Jiline "Jil" Sander is a German minimalist fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house.
Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, perfume and leather accessories. Former Acne Studios creative consultant Paul Surridge succeeded Peter Dundas as creative director for the brand in May 2017.
Hussein Chalayan, is a British-Cypriot fashion designer. He has won the British Designer of the Year twice, and he was awarded the MBE in 2006.
XULY.Bët Funkin' Fashion Factory, or XULY.Bët, is a clothing line designed by Lamine Badian Kouyaté, born 28 Dec 1962, a Malian / Senegalese fashion designer.
Celine is a French luxury ready-to-wear and leather goods brand owned by the LVMH group since 1996. It was founded in 1945 by Céline Vipiana. Since November 2015, the headquarters are located at 16 rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris at the Hôtel Colbert de Torcy, which has French Historic Monument classification. Séverine Merle has been the Chief Executive Officer since April 2017.
Eley Kishimoto, is a British fashion and design company founded in 1992 by Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto. The London-based company is primarily known for its print design. The principal commercial activity of the company is womenswear fashion and accessories.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee is an Indian fashion designer, jewelry designer, retailer and couturier from Kolkata, India. Since 1999, he has sold designer merchandise using the label Sabyasachi. Mukherjee is one of the Associate Designer Members of Fashion Design Council of India and the youngest board member of the National Museum of Indian Cinema. He has designed costumes for Bollywood films such as Guzaarish, Baabul, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Raavan, and English Vinglish.
Jasper Garvida is a fashion designer. Born in the Philippines, he grew up in Canada before moving to London to study Fashion Design at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design. He established his eponymous fashion label in September 2008, known for its bold, highly embellished womenswear. Jasper has swiftly established his reputation as a unique luxury designer with an emphasis on tailoring and feminine silhouettes.
Alexander McQueen is a British luxury fashion house founded by designer Alexander McQueen in 1992. Sarah Burton became Creative Director after his death from 2010 to 2023. Its current creative director is Seán McGirr.
Nicola Formichetti is a fashion director and fashion editor. Born in Japan, he is most widely known as the artistic director of the Italian fashion label Diesel and for being a frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. He worked two years with the French fashion house Mugler as artistic director.
Alexandre Plokhov is a Russian-born American clothing designer. He created designs for the Cloak and Versace labels before creating his own brand in 2011.
Chen Man is a Chinese visual artist. Her medium includes photography, graphic design, cinematography, and digital art.
The Philippine Fashion Week (PhFW) is a biannual week-long fashion show held in Metro Manila, Philippines. Dates are determined for the month of May, for showcasing holiday collections, and for the month of October showcasing spring and summer collections. It is the longest-running fashion event in the country, and the largest fashion event held in Manila, known as the "Olympics" of Philippine fashion. The Philippine Fashion Week was founded by Joey A. Espino Jr and Audie Espino in 1997. They continue to lead the project as executive producers along with the Espino brothers' protégé, Conchitina (Tina) Herrera.
Clements Ribeiro is a London-based fashion house established in the early 1990s by husband and wife partnership Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro. It is known for its feminine designs, bold prints and luxurious knitwear.
Maison Margiela, formerly Maison Martin Margiela, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens in 1988 and headquartered in Paris. The house produces both haute couture-inspired artisanal collections and ready-to-wear collections, with the former influencing the designs of the latter. Product lines include womenswear, menswear, fine jewelry, footwear, accessories, leather goods, objects, fragrance, and home goods, among others. Known for deconstructive and avant-garde designs with unconventional materials, Maison Margiela has traditionally held live shows in unusual settings, for example empty metro stations and street corners. Models' faces are often obscured by fabric or long hair to direct attention to the clothes and design. Margiela resigned as creative designer in 2009 and John Galliano was appointed to the role in 2014.
Nabil El-Nayal, more commonly known as Nabil Nayal is a Syrian-born British fashion designer. He moved to England at the age of 14 and has won awards including the Royal Society of Arts Award, the Graduate Fashion Week 'Best Womenswear' Award and the British Fashion Council MA Scholarship Award.
International Talent Support (ITS) is a platform created to give support and visibility to young talents in the field of fashion design, design of accessories and jewelry. The most artistic-oriented designers are also challenged with ITS Artwork, a purely artistic contest.
JW Anderson is a UK fashion label, founded by Jonathan Anderson. Anderson originally from Magherafelt in Northern Ireland established JW Anderson in 2008 and subsequently launched his fashion house in London. The brand initially focused on menswear, before moving into womenswear in 2010. From 2012 onwards, the brand and its designer have collaborated with a number of retail fashion brands, most notably Topshop, Versace, and Uniqlo, with LVMH acquiring a minority stake in the brand in 2013.
Sunspel is a British luxury clothing brand, founded in England in 1860. The brand is best known for boxer shorts, T-shirts and polo shirts. It is based in Long Eaton, near Nottingham, where it has its own factory.
Hana Tajima-Simpson (1986) is a British–Japanese visual artist, blogger, model, and fashion designer. She is best known for her frequent collaborations with the Japanese clothing store Uniqlo.
Lesley Mobo designs T-shirtline for Uniqlo Inquire
Fabric of Our Lives Exhibition Explored - Lesley Mobo, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Lacroix, Diesel, Hussein Chalayan and Jean Paul Gaultier
Lesley Mobo, the most successful Filipino fashion designer of the moment
Victoria & Albert Museum "Fashion in Motion" Central Saint Martins' finale collection by Lesley Mobo - This collection has plundered the riches of several continents over may millennia for its inspiration. Sumptuous fabrics and dramatic silhouettes
Bio3-zone, Diesel with the Ingeo fiber garments of Lesley Mobo (Diesel Award winner), Docare, Fortei, Fucci, Gaspard Yurkievich, Paul Simon, Salewa, Urban Outfitters, Versace Sport and Wickers have all agreed to create specially-designed clothing to be sold in stores worldwide.
Lesley Mobo all set to soar at the Mall of Asia Arena
From edgy lace to drapings - Lesley Mobo shows Manila what he's got - Inquirer Newspaper
Who's Who in Fashion 6th Edition Bloomsbury Publishing and fairchild Books
Abolut Label 1879 Lesley Mobo designs for Absolut Vodka Sweden
Presenting Lesley Mobo, Philippine Star
Lesley Mobo: Homecoming King, Philippine Star Newspaper
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
