TROPICANA MAGAZINE Jan-Feb 2020 #128 The Love Issue

COVER STORY
When she was a child, accessories and
fashion designer Gina Frias was
described as “a walking Christmas
tree,” by none other than her own
father. “I remember that day very
clearly when my father made that
comment. I dressed up as Miss Spain, in a gown that I had
designed with ruffles. My aunt, who was a tailor, had sewn it
for me,” Gina reminisces fondly. “I made the accessories as
well, a matching headgear and jewellery.” Her dad may have
found her outfit that she designed herself for United Nations
Day at school in the Philippines comical, or even over the top,
but it is this creativity and attention to detail that sets Gina
apart from other designers. This unique sense of style would
later define her aesthetics as a successful accessories designer.
Gina went on to create cult accessories brand, Axxezz.
She was soon supplying Axxezz to Singapore, where her
accessories could be found in major departmental stores such
as Robinsons, Metro, Isetan and John Little. Often travelling
to Malaysia for supplies for her accessories, she decided to
move here, having fallen in love with the country. “When I
started Axxezz I was in my 20s,” Gina shares. “I was just doing
what I liked at my age at the time.” At the height of Axxezz’s
business success, there were 23 Axxezz outlets around the
region including in Isetan Thailand and Taiwan.
Then in 2017, Gina launched her couture label, Gina
Frias London and is currently collaborating with prolific
boxer-turned-politician Manny Pacquiao on a menswear
line - a partnership that emerged after Gina and her team
helped promote Pacquiao’s “Fight of Champions” in Kuala
Lumpur in 2018, which presented Gina with the opportunity
to gift the boxing champ a custom-made Barong (a type of
embroidered formal shirt considered to be the national dress
of the Philippines), with elements inspired by the Catholic
church. Pacquiao was said to be so taken with the Barong
that he wanted to model it on the catwalk himself. That set
the ball rolling and both parties signed a contract to launch
Emmanuel by Gina Frias, tentatively to debut at the London
Fashion Week in February 2020.
TM | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
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