AS Joey Samson continues his journey as an individual and as a designer, he realizes things about himself that either debunk or validate his own long-held beliefs.
“[In the course of doing this year’s collection for the Red Charity Gala], when I look back, there are things that I can do but I just don’t really want to do it. Maybe I’m just really hardheaded but now I just want to balance everything and have to be really open-minded,” he explained at the press preview of PilgrimAge, his nostalgic rendition of his trip to Europe’s citadels of Catholicism.
Samson was the featured designer of the gala, held at Shangri-La The Fort, for the benefit of the Philippine Red Cross and the Assumption High School Class 1981 Foundation. At the auction that preceded the show, almost P5 million of jewelry, artworks and vacations was raised.
The annual event has come to be known as Manila’s most glamorous night, showcasing the creations of world-class Filipino designers. But the choice of Samson was a sharp—and shocking—departure from the previous marquee names: Dennis Lustico, Furne One, Michael Cinco, Ezra Santos, Cary Santiago, Jesus Lloren, Lesley Mobo and Chito Vijandre. “I didn’t imagine myself to be in that position. What I do is for a niche market. It’s what also sets me apart from the others. Based on the featured designers in the past, parang iba naman ’yung ginagawa nila sa ginagawa ko. My initial reaction was: Are you sure? Are you going to allow me to do menswear or pagagawin n’yo ako ng mga gowns? ’Yun ang una kong tinanong,” Samson said.
The Red Charity is on another level. “This is different. This is something else. But they said because Red Charity is on its ninth year, they wanted to surprise. No. 2, they wanted to evolve. Parang, if they’re getting another designer to do what they did in the past, parang what’s the point of doing another show? Parang, let’s do something else. Let’s be ahead of the pack. Next year I know it’s going to be Rajo Laurel and, if he does ballgowns, parang palate cleanser ako,” Samson explained.
“I’m still in disbelief and having difficulty to convince myself to reconcile the old Joey—which is mannish, androgynous, structured, streamlined—with the new Joey, which has a bit more feminine figure, more color, more texture, different fabrication,” he said.
As local fashion’s “garment surgeon,” owing to his medical-studies background, Samson is renowned for his precise cuts of men’s suiting and his balance of softness and structure. At the show, he deftly constructed clothes using velvet, brocade, beading and chainmail. “That’s my way of putting texture. But my beading isn’t colorful. So that’s my way of balancing the new and the old one. It isn’t flashy. It’s just my way of texturizing a surface, very subdued,” Samson said of his 49-looks collection, excluding the ones worn by Tessa Prieto-Valdes and Kaye Tinga, the prime movers of the event; and special clients in the appreciative audience.
Like any discerning artist, Samson relied on the unrelenting support of collaborators. The sculptural pieces incorporated on some ensembles were done by Ryan Villamael (@cultfelt on Instagram), striking accessories by Ricky Vicencio, hair and makeup by Henri Calayag and Eric Maningat, direction by Robby Carmona and styling by Noel Manapat.
On Instagram, Manapat gushed: “@redcharitygala, designer Joey Samson made a case for a new way of seeing formal dressing: long blouses over pants that fall like gowns, menswear in genderless colors, cuts and fabrics, dresses deceivingly simple and severe. It’s a style that goes against the conventions of red-carpet dressing, but a wave of change and comfort for people who have been looking to find a new way of dressing that defines who they are as individuals rather than follow the dictates of tradition.” Ben Chan, whose lifestyle behemoth Bench is celebrating its 30th anniversary in December, congratulated Samson on social media “for a most cutting edge collection for the Red Cross Charity Gala. Bench will forever be supportive of this great cause. Congratulations again to @kayetinga @seaprincess888 [Prieto-Valdes] for another successful presentation!”
“The show is a balancing act because it will be based on perception. If you see it, bahala ko kung anong gusto mong isipin. If you want to look at it as, ‘Am I entering a different phase as a designer or am I telling people that I’d be catering to a [a new market]?,’ bahala ka. It could be a way of camouflaging what I really wanted to say but the story behind it is really different,” Samson said.
At the end of the night, the legendary Inno Sotto was talking to Samson, ostensibly offering his praises and sharing design wisdom. Samson was clearly relieved of the tension that came from the immense pressure to come up with a sensational Red Charity Gala-worthy show.
Will he be embracing the new Joey? “Let’s see,” he smiled. “Kasi di ba, I can’t really completely alienate myself from my DNA. Kasi parang if I do that, parang mawawala na ’yung essence ko as a designer—why my regular clients still come to me after all these years for what I do. Sila naman ’yung ma-alienate kung iba na ’yung ginagawa ko. So, it will be a balancing act. Let’s see where it goes.”