fashion preview

i was set to go home early when i decided to pass by glorietta. i was nearing the center when i saw a lot of people flocking to see something. i didn't stop initially but my curiosity got the better of me so i decided to stay and watch. good thing i did because it was the philippine fashion design competition hosted by the fashion and design council of the philippines (fdcp), to which a number of the most prestigious and talented philippine designers belong to.

from start to finish, i was dazzled by the creations of the 25 semi-finalists. they were tasked to design and create their own versions of the philippine terno. the creations ranged from simple and elegant to the colorful and intricate. it was definitely a fest to the eyes and i had my own favorites. the panel of judges, who were composed of well-known people from the fashion industry obviously had a hard time choosing the winners.

one of the best presentations was the one by randall solomon. his creation was a colorful mini-skirt terno paired with pink stockings. as the model started in the runway, she released a dozen or so butterflies in the air! it was a really spectacular entry! another entry which really caught my eye was that of lotho's. it was a green terno that looked so much like something for ati-atihan. the strands of the dress sashayed to the beat as the model showcased it on the runway.

the creations that caught the eyes of the sponsors were that of john herrera's, who's creation of a rose-inspired terno earned him the title of mega's most promising designer; brian leyva's whose salmon-colored, cowl-necked terno in pants was intel's choice (one of my favorites as well) and edwin tan's blue and green terno with red accents and a slit way up there made him guess designer of the year.

however, only brian leyva's creation made it to the top five. the other three finalists were dodjie batu with his red and yellow terno with a feather accented hood that turns into a train (one of my favorites as well), jun escario with his pink elegant terno with fuschia sleeves that was assembled so interestingly and ignacio loyola's igorot-inspired layered terno. the grand prize winner was cary santiago whose eagle-inspired terno was made of a gazillion jusi feathers so painstakingly created. think mulawin and you'll get what i mean.

the competition really showcased the talent of the filipino designers and i am sure the winners will be able to represent this in the international competition of young fashion designers in france. cheers to the filipino talent!