A Day in the Life: Karina Swee
Two-Hole Punch, curation and creative direction in Manila
A Day in the Life is a series by F&M where we invite fashion practitioners to share a day in their life.
Karina Swee.
Karina Swee is writer, curator, and co-founder of the Manila-based studio Two-Hole Punch. Her practice spans editorial writing, curation, and creative direction. Her writing has been published in Vogue Philippines, L'Officiel Philippines, Fashion & Market and more. In 2020, she founded the curatorial collective Empty Scholar, and has contributed exhibition texts to projects exploring fashion and visual culture.
In this edition of A Day in the Life, she shares the rhythms of a day spent at meetings, markets and shoots.
An early published article. Image courtesy of Karina Swee.
This is one of the first articles I wrote. Since the piece I am currently working on has not been published yet, this image stands in for the writing side of my practice. Most mornings begin with notes, interviews, and research spread across the table.
Inside a Two-Hole Punch meeting. Image courtesy of Karina Swee.
A working meeting with the Two-Hole Punch team. At the moment, we are discussing both an advertising campaign and an architectural publication. These conversations usually happen around a table like this, with references and images laid out in front of us.
My work room. Image courtesy of Karina Swee.
My work room on a typical afternoon. Books, notebooks, and fragments from different projects tend to gather here over the course of the day.
Flowers from a weekend market. Image courtesy of Karina Swee.
A stall at a weekend market. Colour combinations like these stay in my mind and later find their way into palettes or styling decisions.
Behind the scenes of a studio shoot. Image courtesy of Karina Swee.
A moment from a recent advertising shoot. This is when the references, sketches, and plans are tested in front of the camera.
About the writer
Karina Swee is a writer and creative director based in Manila. Her work spans editorial writing, design, and cultural projects and is the co-founder of the studio Two-Hole Punch.