B R A V O ! R A J O

indigo taffeta and stretch tulle drape dress

Rajo Laurel’s tried his hand on draping and successfully came up with a  deluxe collection for his solo show at the second season of Fashion Watch Quartet. His prêt-a-porter collection for the holidays was noticeably unembellished and appealingly wearable. Marked by sensual fluidity which allows ease of movement and tasteful opulence. His clothes are sure sellers.

beetroot chiffon top, plum ball skirt

These dresses are choice picks from said collection. The indigo draped taffeta with chiffon sleeves is exquisite and the belted silver grey silk top with ribbed charcoal knit skirt is uncompromisingly chic. The bronze taffeta cowl-necked shift is sculpture-in-motion while the beetroot tank with embroidered bra and plum taffeta skirt is perfect for galas.

silk-satin toga

“I took inspiration from my old geometry notebook. Off the body, these clothes form rectangles, ellipses and triangles,” Rajo revealed.

rajo laurel

Rajo’s enthusiasm and friendliness is always endearing thus your jotter was one of the first to congratulate him when he won the much coveted Ernst and Young, SGV Small Business Enterpreneur award in 2007. To date, he is the only fashion designer who has been given such recognition. This collection, once again, proves that Rajo has found perfect balance between creativity and saleability in his clothes. 

draped silk-satin top, bondage skirt

Bravo Rajo.

Ito's Coup

cascading cape in silk organza with a high-neck shift

Ito Curata, one of the presidential designers for her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo showed an ultra glamorous collection for Fashion Watch Quartet. His guest of honour, the president of the Philippines herself, showed up five minutes before the show, sat at the assigned table with Ito’s mom and lifetime partner Bob, and immediately left after the presentation.

nuances of elegance from day to evening in variants of luxurious raw silks, silk chiffons and crepes.

One of my journalist friends wanted to throw what would have been a very awkward question at the president regarding her attending the show despite the recent MILF bombings in Lanao. Personally this blogger had questioned the propriety of such query considering that said friend wasn’t even a hard news journalist. A fair reportage on the clothes was what she owed her readers, it was what was expected of her as a fashion writer. Evidently, protocol did not allow her to raise such question as PGMA left promptly sorrounded by her presidential guards.

red-carpet ready gowns

Ito created one of the most elegant collections for the Fashion Watch Quartet Series. I loved the soundtrack. His main theme, Vuelvo al Sur, heightened the tres, tres chic and golden-age Hollywood charm of his clothes. One can imagine Sharon Stone, a client of his when he was residing in the states, walking the red carpet in one of Ito's latest ultra-glam looks.

DORLA VILLALON, ITO and BOB with this blogger

Lloren's Riveting Art Deco Rendering

Jojie Lloren showed impeccable tailoring, mastery of patternmaking and couture technique in his latest presentation for Fashion Watch Quartet at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel’s Lobby Lounge. He was in the best form, giving us a glimpse of his genius.

sculptural shift

His cohesive collection opened with a "blanc et noir" number which set the length, mood and theme of his twenty-five piece collection. This initial offering, a black shift dress in wool crepe with inserted white stripes that formed a V in front and Y at the back, also had a white stiffened flap that traversed the front of the body from the left to right sleeve. This precisely placed detail elevated this simple short dress to sculpture.

Art Deco seams

Consistently, from the first to the last piece Lloren showed short dresses which were geometrically pieced together so that they parallel, if not surpass, the intricacy of the late YSL’s Mondrian shift dresses. Lloren’s dresses were decidedly much more complicated requiring as much as two hundred and fifty pattern pieces to complete and more than forty five hours to assemble.

Lloren with his models

“Paris and New York Art Deco windows and buildings are my inspiration, “said Lloren of his riveting collection. This explained the complicated curvilinear seams and the proclivity for voluminous draping at the back of the dresses which were an elegant allusion to the hunchback Quasimodo of an earlier period.