Cata Figueroa Jr., one of the country’s esteemed fashion directors, hopes that by the first quarter of 2022, live shows will again be in full swing. “I know that most of us are affected by the pandemic but I am praying we will, slowly but surely, start doing things following the protocols of the new normal,” he says.
Figueroa will have in-person events slated for November. But for the past months, he has been boosting the morale of his fashion friends through his virtual presentations at his YouTube channel, Potpourri with Cata Figueroa. The first one, “Veneration: A Virtual Flores de Mayo” in May, was to give thanks to Mama Mary for keeping everyone away from harm. “I was born on October 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and I felt that I owe everything to her. Thankfully, my family, especially my senior-aged parents, have been spared from Covid-19. I keep on praying that Mama Mary will continue to bless us with good health,” he shares.
The fourth and latest virtual presentation, “Hombre,” focused on male clothing. Figueroa wanted to highlight the designers who do menswear, although some had to back out on the week leading to the premiere showing due to reasons beyond their control (family and staff problems).
“Since menswear is general, there were no specific requirements as to the collections that they should show. Even with the number of clothes, I left it to their discretion as long as everything fits within the 1 1/2 minute time allocation for each designer,” he explains. “The main objective of the virtual shows is to show to everyone that despite the pandemic, the designers are still there to create clothes for those who would like to have their outfits custom-made.”
Figueroa sent invitations to designers across the archipelago and those who heeded the call are Akmad Kari Jr., Ann Casas, Dexter Alazas, Gener Gozum, Gil Macaibay III, Joseph Palma, N Inabel by Niña Corpuz, Rey Lazaro and Robert Gonzales. Among the younger designers, the more exciting collections are courtesy of Bo Parcon of Iloilo City and Mark Christopher Yaranon of Cagayan de Oro City.
Lyle Ibañez’s collection is a tale of seduction, joy and freedom. “Seduction, because my fashion seduces you to buy and wear me. Joy, because we feel good and happy if we like what we are wearing, and it gives us confidence. Freedom, because it allows us to be ourselves, and to choose and wear whatever we want,” the beloved designer says.
“I’ve always preferred black [as a color palette]. It is mysterious yet it is easy to wear. My black series is schoolboy-inspired. I call that Radicality. The lace series, Romanticism, is composed of a black shirt with dentelle back details paired with tangerine and black jacquard trousers, black dentelle tees with silver lamé tank with black cropped pants, and the jeweled swimwear with matching sling bag to add a bit of skin to the presentation,” Ibañez explains.
“It really is dark times in fashion now; that is one reason why I wanted to come up with something fun and still wearable yet now.”
Meanwhile, the menswear master Anthony Nocom calls his collection the “Man About Town.”
“The inspiration is the contemporary man—metrosexual, on-the-go, vain, expresses himself through his dressing style. Colors are blue, black, off-white, beige—these are the colors of men no matter. Fabrics are stretch cotton, ramie linen, rayon, ribbed knit, cotton twill,” Nocom shares. “Shirts are in a checkered pattern and worked-on details like pockets and contrast color piping. Denim in indigo blue and pinstripe not as jeans but in shaped pants, wide-leg shorts, blazers and overcoat, and rayon crepe for wide-leg pants.”
“I can say fashion retail is really bad. No one is buying fashion items, no events to attend unless it is a wedding but still with limited guests in this pandemic and lockdown periods.”
Figueroa is confident that fashion will flourish once more: “We all have no choice but to really live with this pandemic. My advice to designers and budding directors is to not give up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Let us make use of this lull moment to learn about the new technologies of the business. I self-educated myself with technical knowledge to better my craft. It is my fervent hope that fashion people would do the same for our own good.”