pH balanced
Issue #26
Equal parts retro and Asian influences, pH by Phillia finds a perfect fashion equilibrium
By Jenny Sabella
Published: December 1st, 2005 | 3:56pm
Phillia Downs was on a fast track to medical school when she decided cell biology was about as creative as brushing her teeth. That’s when she put away her microscope, recruited her best friend, Nanako Mori, and decided to start her own fashion line.
Downs’s line, pH by Phillia, offers an eclectic blend of vintage pieces updated with hand-stitched patterns and colorful buttons. Flower patterns and characters set pH’s dresses, shirts, and skirts apart from other vintage-inspired pieced with their Asian influence. This vision is one Downs had been suppressing since adolescence, until 2004.
“I remember in high school, I would be in my walk-in closet and the words ‘fashion design’ would pop in my head,” Downs said. “I would immediately dismiss it because I never thought I could actually make a career out of it. My traditional, Korean parents steered me into a more … safe route of science and medicine.” Fortunately for Downs, her parents got on board and are now her “biggest supporters.”
“What would make me the happiest is to have anyone be able to afford [one of] my pieces if they really love it,” Downs said. pH by Phillia has been going strong for about a year and shows little sign of slowing down. With Mori by her side, Downs hopes her creations will eventually be accessible and affordable for anyone who is interested. So far, the line is confined to their Web site, phbyphillia.com, where shoppers can browse through everything from one-of-a-kind clothes to handmade jewelry and flight bags to colorful sunglasses. Downs said she hopes to get the site packed with more low-cost fashions soon and is spreading the word to various boutiques nationwide.
As a new face in the DIY scene, Downs sees big things in her future. “I want to make an impact in the fashion scene,” she says. “A pH force to be reckoned with.”
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