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Dong
Omaga-Diaz feels like the morning calm. As the newly
minted president of the Fashion and Design Council of
the Philippines (FDCP), which counts among its members
the most productive and influential creative minds in
fashion design, he is basking in the successful staging
of the group’s recent gala. “I’m elated with all the
compliments I’ve been getting from friends and, most
importantly, from the FDCP membership. This inspires me
to continue weaving new dreams for the group,” Omaga-Diaz
says. Much will truly be expected from him and the
progressive group as last year its forecasts and
inspired ideas were sorely missed on the runway.
At the
Jackie Aquino-directed Metrowear series show at the
Rockwell Tent, with Bedouin-like tents placed
distractingly in the middle of the runway, 24 FDCP
members posited their “fashion innovations.” As is my
practice, I pick only the 10 most interesting pieces
from the pocket collections.
To
achieve a unified look, members worked on themes also
reverberating across the globe today: Club Arab (think
Casablanca, The English Patient,Morocco, Lawrence of
Arabia, Queen Rania, Yasmine Aga Khan), Cold Africa
(think Mogambo, Out of Africa, The African Queen, Ernest
Hemingway, Charlize Theron) and Gaea, the goddess of the
earth who bore and married Uranus, and became the mother
of the Titans and the Cyclops (guess who the designers
were thinking of when they crafted their clothes). But
if you ask me, they could have worked on any of the
assigned themes and we wouldn’t have been able to tell
which was which.
Ivar
Aseron created for Bianca Valerio an oversized tweed
jacket with gray pique top and pants. Vittorio Barba
made a black hand-pintucked tulle sheath dress
accessorized with stainless-steel bangles and red-patent
gladiators, giving the fragile Grace Tagle a dominatrix
edginess.
Rocky
Salumbides, fresh from signing up with the Ford Models
agency, was a virile vision in Joey Samson’s gray wool
and knit coverall with zipper details, utilitarian
pockets and glove sleeves. The jacket gave a funky
formal feel.
I
wondered where the showstoppers were—Dennis Lustico,
Nono Palmos, Larry Espinosa. The three designers had
resigned from the group. Still, the most theatrical of
them all—Frederick Peralta—delivered the fabulous goods:
silver sensations that Marlene Dietrich would have loved
to be seen and photographed in.
Gerry
Katigbak dressed Lotus van Heddegem in two layers of
silk chiffon in ecru and lilac, with emphasis on the
kimona sleeves and geometric embroidery beaded bib, and
brocade pants in beige. Randy Ortiz made Ria Bolivar a
splendid peplum jacket with palazzo pants in plaid brown
and taupe combination in linen wool with a detachable
capelet.
Two
ravishing variations of the suit were created by Ramon
Esteban (for the sizzling-hot Akihiro Sato) and PJ
Aranador (for the half-Italian stallion Joe Ozbot).
Inspired by the landscape and colors of the Sahara, Arcy
Gayatin clothed Grace Tagle in a handpleated caramel
jersey embellished with suede that she cut into
honeycomb patterns with metal-watch components.
It was
fitting that Omaga-Diaz closed the gala on a high-flying
note, with a fantastic safari-inspired tweed jacket
paired with a lace ballskirt embellished with beads and
feathers.
After a
rousing start, here’s hoping that the FDCP under Omaga-Diaz
will regain its preeminence in the fashion front. |
