Among the final day shows at Fashion Week Asia 2026, held at Palacio de Memoria, Ponder.er offered a particularly expansive beauty reference board. The label, founded by creative duo Alex Po and Derek Cheng, approaches gender-fluid dressing as an invitation to celebrate the culture of their beloved city of Hong Kong, all the way to the Philippines.
“We were inspired by the everyday audience. Our collection is a bit of a homage to the people who built the community in Hong Kong, but also the surroundings, the scaffoldings, buildings, and nature,” says Cheng in an exclusive interview with Allure Philippines.
Nothing at Ponder.er ever comes with instructions, and it’s evident with the collection, titled Loose Ends. It’s relaxed—much like Po and Cheng as we met them backstage—with experimental silhouettes, chignons, string accents connected to the pieces; leaving the styling to the wearer—so personal style becomes something to explore, question, and own.
The beauty looks, created by lead makeup artist Gery Penaso under MAC Cosmetics and hairstylists from Cream Silk, work the same way. From high-gloss, natural hair to combed styles, the beauty direction moved between precision and disarray, restraint and expression.
“Ponder.er is more of a casual wear, and we wanted to elevate that look for the runway,” Cheng told Allure Philippines. “We wanted [the models] to look natural—just a flush of color to the lips to highlight something unusual for our daily audience.”
Natural curls
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Tight, natural curls brought texture and volume to the look, letting each model’s unique, natural patterns take shape—in keeping with Ponder.er’s approach to personal style as something to explore on one’s own terms.
Subtle sheen on the lids
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
A wash of subtle dewiness caught the light on the eyelids, adding dimension without veering into full-on shimmer. The sheen brought a touch of luminosity to the eyes, drawing attention to their natural contours.
String accents on the hair
Grant Bab
Grant Babia
Thin string accents threaded through straight hair, adding an unexpected pop of texture. The delicate strands drew the eye along the hair’s length, adding a playful and distinctive touch.
Easy, undone lengths
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
This hairstyle embraced a more lived-in finish, striking a balance between runway polish and everyday ease. Hair was styled to look loose and relaxed, with natural movement and a just-ran-your-fingers-through-it finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Makeup artist Gery Penaso led the beauty direction for MAC Cosmetics, with hairstylists from Cream Silk handling hair. Together they built a natural look of tight curls, dewy lids, and string-accented hair for Ponder.er.
Hair moved between tight natural curls, string accents threaded through straight lengths, and loose, undone finishes. Each style let individual texture and movement show, in keeping with the label’s relaxed, unscripted approach.
Makeup stayed minimal, with a subtle dewy sheen on the eyelids for dimension without shimmer, and a flush of color on the lips. The look stayed natural rather than heavily defined.
Thin strings were threaded through straight hair as an unexpected texture detail, drawing the eye along the hair’s length for a playful, distinctive touch that echoed the collection’s string and fabric accents on the clothes.
The beauty direction mirrored the collection’s relaxed, instruction-free approach: natural curls, a dewy eyelid wash, and a flush of lip color, leaving styling open to interpretation rather than following a fixed beauty formula.
