Pinoy pride at Paris Fashion Week
Filipino design artistry was on display at a one-night event held during Paris Fashion Week last month. To mark its second anniversary, Vogue Philippines chose 23 designers who were instructed to come up with miniature creations that incorporated local weaves or textiles made with natural fibers.
“Primarily, we wanted a representation of the Philippine archipelago for Vogue Threads… a celebration of craft and form,” said Gino Gonzales, who curated the exhibit held at the Palais Galliera.
Gonzales is a well known scenographer and was recently awarded the Gawad Parangal for design and allied arts by the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
“We also limited them to a color palette of ecru or unbleached cotton or linen in shades of amber, camel, gold, copper, and bronze to keep things cohesive… So it’s not just an individual effort but a unified statement.”
The designers were also instructed to avoid using endangered natural materials like shells and mollusks as well as perishable goods or plastics. Several designers used piña and abaca, while a few, like Rita Nazareno, used rattan.
“I had to be ruthless with the final selections. So despite my friendship with most of the designers, I had to be as objective as possible. At the end of the day, it had to be an assemblage of works that ‘volted in’ with the intent to put our very best foot forward,” said Gonzales.
The designers who made the cut included Prince Padilla, Joey Samson, Jojie Lloren, Jerome Lorico, Rhett Eala, Ivarluski Aseron, Hannah Adrias, Milka Quin, Ino Caluza of Viktor, Gabbie Sarenas, Rita Nazareno, Jo Ann Bitagcol, Seph Bagasao, JC Buendia, Jaggy Glarino, Renz Reyes, Mich Dulce, Mark Bumgarner, Rajo Laurel, Vania Romoff, Carl Jan Cruz, Karl Nadales, and Michael Cinco.
Vogue Threads is aligned with three principles which Vogue Philippines aims to highlight, namely Likha (craft, creativity, bespoke), Hibla (natural materials, nature and sustainability), and Kapwa (friends and family).
Three people, two hours
The project, which included a sit-down dinner for guests, was carefully planned with the Paris team over the course of several months. “But the actual setup was done by three people with military precision in just two hours. We installed half-dressed in our formal attire and then changed in a tiny corner of the museum’s cloak room before facing the guests,” Gonzales said.
He credited two of the featured designers for helping him up until the last minute. “Prior to the installation at the venue, the task of mounting the clothes on the forms was done at the office of the events organizer. We were fortunate to have Gabbie Sarenas and Mich Dulce, who arrived fully armed with shop tools from London.”
Instead of displaying the clothes on miniature dress forms that are relatively easy to source, the Vogue team tapped Palaw’an artists to hand-carve the maquettes that were approximately 2 feet tall and slightly different from each other. They used light-colored Gmelina arborea wood, which they smoked using tree sap and cassava leaves to achieve their dark-colored appearance.
“We gave the artists the liberty to interpret the mini dress form. As a result, they don’t necessarily conform to our notion of the ‘ideal’ fashion proportions. For instance, the hips are much wider than those of a typical mannequin,” Gonzales said.
“From the onset, we wanted a sharp contrast to the neo-classical architecture and sculptures of the Palais Galliera, hence the maquettes’ animistic, primitive form,” he added.
Even while they were setting up on the day of the event, he said that museum visitors milled around the area, drawn to the dressed-up maquettes arranged on pedestals.
Gonzales gave Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour a tour of the exhibit when she arrived that evening. “I was talking to the writer from Vogue when he told me that Anna was on her way. When she arrived, I proceeded to give her the tour. Although I felt really anxious, I got it into my head that I already knew her because I had seen so many photos and video clips of her.”
There are plans to take Vogue Threads on a caravan in the Philippines in late November. Archie Carrasco, Vogue Philippines’ CEO and publisher, said in a statement that the project was “not just a one-time celebration but part of our ongoing commitment to elevate Filipino talent and artistry internationally. It was born out of our desire to showcase Filipino craftsmanship on the global stage, intertwining fashion and culture.”
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