INTELLIGENT designs that extolled material and creativity were seen at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde’s graduation exhibit and fashion show, called Sinulid: Connotations of Design.
Held last week in SM Aura’s atrium, graduating students from the Fashion Design and Merchandising program of CSB showed off their designs which made over a period of six months, according to Christine Benet, program coordinator for Fashion Design and Merchandising.
While the fashion show in SM Aura’s Samsung Hall veered more towards elaborate couture creations, the exhibit downstairs leaned more towards more casual designs, while styling as a skill was also shown in one part of the exhibit.
“Not everyone wants to do haute couture,” said Ms. Benet, noting that some students would really rather go into the business side of fashion, so most of the collections shown at the exhibit were placed under brands, which the students would one day establish.
“Casual” is relative here: young designer Ju Young Kim showed a series of white outfits including a white shift dress running with red and blue threads (a motif repeated throughout the collection), while styling student Emiko Muraoka showed off a collection featuring dark and glamorous looks inspired by the Tokyo fashion scene.
Meanwhile, a brand called Always Sandy showed off bridal wear in translucent fabrics elaborately stitched with fabric petals, and another called Sela showed a collection of nautical-inspired pieces. A brand called Marga was unabashedly feminine, showing puffy, flowing dresses in various shades of pink, perfect for a girly-girl who will never quite grow old. A brand called Bulsa showed shift dresses with patchwork pockets in leather, and finally, a brand that caught BusinessWorld’s eye was a designer named Joanna Paola Miculob, who showed a collection of menswear embroidered with equations, that according to her, show unlimited possibilities, as inspired by the 2011 movie Source Code.
Throughout the exhibit, one saw that students worked with materials such as discarded luggage and umbrella ribs, as well as items from thrift stores, which were then remade and deconstructed.
“We alloted a lot of effort for them to do fabric manipulation,” said Ms. Benet. CSB encourages students to really explore the world of textiles, even down to its chemical instruction, with instructors who had learned techniques from around the world (Ms. Benet, for example, was educated in the science in Milan) and the Philippines through the Philippine Textile Research Institute. “We want them to really start from scratch, start from nothing,” Ms. Benet said.
The importance of teaching students to explore fabric, as well as the possibly of creating their own textiles, addresses a gap in the manufacturing industry. “There’s not much fabric available in the Philippines,” said Ms. Benet.
As such, Filipinos, as they are wont to do, fall back on talent to bridge the gap between what could be, and what is readily available.
“Their design process is from a creative talent, not from inspiration out there.” — Joseph L. Garcia
