DRAWING INSPIRATION from art and other design fields may prove either a boon or a bane for fashion designers. It could either inspire them to rise above their usual creative selves or blindside their visions as they reinterpret another person’s idea of art.
The recently staged “Five Senses” fashion show at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza’s Harbor Garden Tent was a case in point. Organized by Alliance Française and the French Embassy in Manila, in collaboration with the indefatigable Lulu Tan Gan, the annual art-meets-fashion event marked its fourth year.
And just like in previous editions, it sought to redirect the individual talents of this year’s 10 participating designers by asking them to draw inspiration from images other than fashion—in this case, 10 avant-garde perfume bottles (complete with individual titles and scents) created by certain French artists—to come up with their respective five-piece collections.
(As part of the French Spring celebration in Metro Manila, the perfume bottles are currently on display at the Ayala Museum in Makati.)
If anything, the event underscored three major developments courtesy of three heavyweight talents: Patrice Ramos-Diaz has managed to retain if not further hone her creativity after emerging from a two-year self-imposed exile in Shanghai; Joji Lloren, after a major misstep in a previous fashion show, was back in fighting form doing what he does best; and Dennis Lustico continued to evolve in his journey as an artist.
Diaz’s long, strapless beige dresses were easily the evening’s most applauded numbers. Inspired by “Magic Mushroom,” the designer did a literal interpretation of the object by pleating, draping and twisting abaca into voluminous and cloud-like skirts that surprisingly flattered their wearers’ figures.
The collection, which she draped one by one using a mannequin, attested to Diaz’s talent to produce lovely and wearable one-of-a-kind pieces. Since the skirts were big enough to begin with, she wisely shied away from color and went for fitted corsets and close-to-the-body bodices to balance the look.
Everything would have been perfect (down to director Robbie Carmona’s dramatic music and fast-paced choreography) if not for one major glitch: A model in a tight-fitting skirt fell on her knees as she navigated the runway.
Even if it were the model’s fault, Diaz should have spared the audience from such a spectacle by anticipating the problem. The chances of a high heel snagging a skirt, among other wardrobe malfunctions, should have been addressed during dress rehearsals.
Arcy Gayatin also followed her inner muse to fashion an elegant, if a bit minimalist, collection consisting of draped black-and-white jersey dresses embellished with sculptural appliqués in the form of flowers.
The sculptural elements, which were in keeping with her assigned bottle, were an ideal foil to the designer’s soft, figure-flattering creations. Clearly, unlike some designers (including a few women!), Gayatin knows how to work around a woman’s body.
Alas, Patis Tesoro wasn’t as circumspect as Diaz and Gayatin in her attempt to reinvent the wheel. Her collection, even without the trademark butterfly sleeves and tapis, managed to look the same as her exquisite Filipiniana pieces.
Tesoro’s long, voluminous dresses fashioned from rich and textured fabrics employed almost every detail—from bustles to ruffles, embroidery to hanky drops—that only managed to make them look cluttered and their wearers mature and, um, fat.
If tall, slim models couldn’t get away with such humongous proportions, imagine how the dresses would look on an ordinary mortal.
A surfeit of details also hobbled Puey Quiñones’ efforts at doing convertible, two-in-one dresses made of various swags of fabrics a la Hussein Chalayan. There was simply too much going on.
Apart from being gimmicky (in the absence of expensive remote-control devices, he made two male models in pale town crier outfits assist the ladies “change” on stage), the attempt was a bit immature even for someone as young as Quiñones.
Now that he’s slowly inching his way into the big league, he should steer clear of such gimmicks and focus on doing real clothes.
A versatile designer such as Rajo Laurel also faltered in his vision to channel nuances from a floral-textured bottle that held a “virginal” scent. In contrast to Tesoro’s larger-than-life collection, however, Laurel’s pieces were more wearable and flattering to the figure.
The designer resorted to a variety of materials such as tulle, taffeta, gazar and faille in white and off white to create “coquettish” swing coats and baby doll dresses that looked a bit stiff and too embellished, thanks to copious floral embroidery with three-dimensional silk and organza petals.
One designer who’s adamant in the way he approaches his craft is Frederick Peralta.
The master of ornamentation and suggestive dressing has done it again with a collection consisting of 1960s-inspired baby doll dresses, hot pants and jumpsuits (Barbarella meets Hell’s Angel) made of Mikado silk and strategically placed organdy cutouts with embroidered outlines. For added drama, a number of tops sported sculpted opera collars, while several dresses were as stiff and as structural as a girder.
The collection, whose ornamentation mimicked twig patterns found on his assigned bottle, exuded fun and in-your-face retro sensibilities that were unmistakably and unapologetically Peralta. Take it or leave it.
In contrast, Lustico is getting harder to pigeonhole with every passing show. With him, you don’t know what to expect.
Relying on his unmatched eye for color (a quality that defines his every piece), the designer stayed away from flimsy chiffon and did a 180-degree turn by channeling images from Arab North Africa into his clothes made of jewel-toned Thai silk and silk jacquard pieces in mango, mustard, violet, aqua and varying shades of green.
The designer resorted to a bit of draping, dart manipulation and hand-embroidery with built-in foam for added volume. To give his dresses the right tribal feel, he embellished them with round metal earrings and studs.
As far as menswear was concerned, Vittorio was able to hold his own with layered pieces made of brushed cottons and jersey in black, white and shades of gray. Despite the absence of bright colors, the designer was able to fashion interesting but sensible pieces through inventive cutting and the use of contrasting shades and layering.
Yes, the collection had its share of gimmicks (anyone care for a three-sleeve shirt?), but they were subtle and unobtrusive enough not to distract the audience and make a fool of the model.
These qualities, however, were sorely lacking in fellow menswear designer Anthony Nocom’s suits. Despite abandoning his sensibilities as an RTW designer by going the opposite way, the designer surprisingly failed to show anything fresh.
Apart from resurrecting several of his shiny and fitted tops from last year’s Metrowear, the designer’s finale consisting of a loose silk magenta jacket accented with a textured apple-green scarf betrayed poor coloration. To paraphrase a cliché, it was a sight that induced sore eyes.
Not a few fashionistas might have found Lloren’s black-and-white pieces made of silk crepe, gazar, organza and wool suiting a bit too severe, but there’s no denying they were embellished with interesting behind-the-scene details that displayed the designer’s unmatched skills when it comes to tailoring.
To articulate his vision revolving around “Between Dog and Wolf,” the Paris-trained Lloren resorted to diabolic imagery - from Satan’s wings to two devils in ecstasy (which, if you ask me, happens everyday with routine regularity).
He did these, among other masterful attempts at cutting and fabric manipulation, with surgical precision in the form of bias-cut fin-like projections emerging from a wing-like womb, twin tails spliced into twisting seam lines and origami protrusions connected to the sleeves.
By drawing on their experience and respective strengths as designers, Diaz and company were able to excite the senses and infuse newfound imageries to objects ranging from the mundane to the otherworldly.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved.
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