This business venture taught them that it is okay to skip the social scene
College friends Kyla Navarro and Marie Yabut love dressing up. “Honestly, we both enjoy dressing up no matter the occasion! There’s something about getting ready, whether it be for a night out or as simple as buying in the convenient store, that we all know most ladies enjoy,” Yabut said.
“Not to mention, being the bold women that we are, we both see importance in the desires women have for themselves. Hence, the best way we can support these unique aspirations is to provide them an avenue in the fashion industry,” Navarro said.
Navarro is a Nursing student at Far Eastern University, and Yabut is a Behavioral Science major at De La Salle University Manila. They named their start-up brand “Adara Boutique.”
According to the duo, Adara is meant to reinforce women’s beauty as they brave the world and to help them achieve their goals in style. “We curate our pieces in a manner that accentuate a woman’s dignified shape and the gracefulness of her body,” they said in an official statement.
They conceptualized their first collection for about two months before they came up with a blueprint of their collection. They finally launched the “Marquee Collection” which consists of classic and complementary dresses inspired by the night life, “Our pieces have been put together for a light and pleasant fit while draped in elegance. Not to mention, it’s meant to be versatile and used for different occasions,” Navarro said.
Being college undergrads was no deterrent. “As students, it’s presumed that our main priority would be academics or extracurricular activities. Balancing both our growing business and studies is a good training ground for the real world. It tests how well you can handle time management and the progress you make reflects how much you are willing to sacrifice to achieve milestones,” Navarro said.
This business venture taught them that it is okay to skip the social scenes to focus on their start-up. “Adara still has a long way to go in reaching certain breakthroughs but we both enjoy the process,” Yabut said.
For their next collection, they decided to tackle the sustainability aspect of the business. “We’ve explored and familiarized ourselves with competing clothing brands in the industry to find that the transition to slow fashion is beneficial to both our business and the environment,” Navarro said. Instead of night life-inspired pieces, their next collection will be more everyday and casual look.
Adara Boutique will also shift to pre-order basis and will release new designs continuously.
Apart from the design of our pieces, Navarro and Yabut are focusing on the clothing line’s advocacy for womanhood, “As seen in our #DalagaNiAdara campaign, we hope to conduct a home visit for an orphanage of transitioning teenage girls in the Philippines by the end of the year,” Yabut said.
The campaign intends to provide these ladies with the proper education on health and wellness, as well as feminine kits. Also, they are in the process of discovering unidentified social issues that they can tap on and add into the branding of Adara Boutique.
Photography Jerick Sanchez
Styling Luis Carlo San Juan
Makeup Theresa Padin
Hairstyle Jonas Lucas
Model Casey Merritt
Videography Bruce Rojas
Shot on location Sine.Pop
Special thanks to Carlson Chan
