Cynthia Villar and daughter Camille opt for no-fuss fashion
WEALTHY, ACCOMPLISHED and highly visible, Rep. Cynthia Villar of Las Piñas is a fashion designer?s dream client. The same can be said of her only daughter Camille, the Ateneo-educated head of corporate communications of family-owned Vista Land.

But as Nolie Hans, Cynthia?s second cousin and the family?s longtime designer, reveals, dressing up both women could challenge any designer?s creativity for totally different reasons.

And now that the campaign season is about to heat up, with Sen. Manuel Villar, Cynthia?s husband and Camille?s father, only weeks away from filing his candidacy for the presidency, Hans thinks the two women aren?t likely to do any drastic makeover just to win votes.

?She?s a very simple and practical person, who usually buys her casual and business clothes off the rack,? Nolie says of Cynthia. ?She goes to me for formal gowns, which consist mostly of Filipiniana-inspired pieces.?

But unless the occasion calls for a terno, Cynthia is usually in a contemporized kimona over a nondescript column gown.

?I?m more comfortable wearing a kimona. It makes me look younger and slimmer,? says Cynthia, 59, in our interview in the family-owned Laurel House in Mandaluyong. ?I don?t like frilly clothes. At 5?1,? I feel I can?t carry them.?

Kimonas with billowy sleeves have no place in her wardrobe, as are heavily beaded and embroidered pieces. She prefers tops with drop sleeves and hints of embellishment. To add variety, Hans sometimes resorts to subtle hand painting.

?If her top is embellished, she wants her skirt plain, and vice versa,? says Hans. ?Instead of bright colors, she prefers her gowns in shades of blue or lavender. She doesn?t want to wear anything that would call attention to herself.?

The same rule applies to Cynthia?s choice of jewelry. You won?t see her wearing multiple strands of pearls, humongous cocktail rings or eye-popping collars. She prefers smaller, more down-to-earth pieces. Not only do they flatter her, she believes wearing modest pieces makes her more accessible.

?I don?t want to be alienated from people,? say Cynthia matter-of-factly. ?I don?t think it?s in good taste for public officials to wear extravagant clothes and jewelry because your constituents are mostly poor. It?s just rubbing it in that you?re kind of well-off and they?re not.?

?Kind of? is certainly an understatement. Cynthia Aguilar belongs to a landed and political family. She and Villar, the self-made billionaire-turned-politician from Tondo, met as students at the University of the Philippines.

?I guess it runs in the family,? says Hans. ?Her parents were also known for being low-key. I guess if you were born rich, you don?t really feel the need to impress others. She probably has other things in her mind.?

For this interview, Cynthia is in an old rose pants-and-blouse ensemble with delicate embroidery on the collar and sleeves? trims. She bought the outfit in Vietnam on a trip.

No need for stylist

She has a trusted secretary and labandera (laundrywoman), who doubles as wardrobe custodian, and sees no need to hire a stylist.

Her jewelry, including a pair of medium-size gold earrings and ring, is anything but ostentatious. Like her daughter, she prefers to slip into mules with average heel heights.

?I?ve already hurt myself twice from wearing high heels,? she says. ?My doctor has advised me to wear them only on special occasions.?

She owns a few Manolo Blahniks, says Hans, plus a number of classic leather and canvas bags from Chanel and Louis Vuitton, but nothing too trendy or outrageously expensive.

Through the years, designer and client have had few occasions to disagree, as Hans makes it a point to work within Cynthia?s ?parameters.?

One time, however, he insisted that Cynthia buy a few strands of gold tambourines to go with her ecru outfit. Since it was a televised event, the designer felt the look could use a bit of texture. She balked at the suggestion.

?It can be a challenge, but it has never been frustrating,? he says. ?Because when I look at her now, she?s probably right. After all, she?s really the exact opposite of some women we see in high-profile occasions. That?s how she really is in private.?

Simple Camille

Hans was confronted with a similar challenge years ago with Camille, now 24. As one of the dancers in a Rigodon, she went to the designer to have a terno made.

?The problem was she wanted it as simple as possible, but it was a public event,? he says.

It would have been fine if she would simply sit all night in a corner, but that wasn?t the case. Hans felt he needed to create something more eye-catching in keeping with her stature. They met halfway, with the designer making a figure-flattering emerald green terno with a series of cutouts.

?She?s blessed with a svelte figure so I tried to make it the focal point of my design,? he says.

Camille?s taste in clothes may be conservative, but she?s comfortable showing off a bit of those curves. Since she?s no taller than her mom, she prefers to wear shoes with heels ?all the time.?

?I love wearing jeans and a nice top if I feel I have to move around,? she shares. ?But normally, you?d see me in a dress. They?re easy to wear since you don?t have to think of what to combine them with. I admire trendy and avant-garde people, but I?m not really the type. I don?t think I can get away with it.?

Hans again found himself in a similar bind a few years later when Camille was invited to grace a social event in Iloilo as its queen.

Since she told him to refrain from doing heavy beading, Hans was worried that her gown would end up looking lackluster alongside supposedly less sophisticated provincial lasses.

He ended up creating an off-white silk gazar number with hints of beadwork from the bodice down to the skirt. It came out, he says, looking rich, regal and, as Camille had wanted it, quietly elegant.

More recently, Camille graced the cover and inside pages of Lifestyle Asia in designer threads by Narciso Rodriguez, Givenchy and Dolce and Gabbanna. None of the pieces or the looks, of course, was hers. They were products of stylist Suki Salvador?s vision.

The entire concept, from her upswept hair and heavy makeup (which her mother slightly disapproved of) showed her in a totally different light. She was so excited, especially after seeing herself in Rodriguez?s backless black number that made it on the cover.

?It?s the most beautiful dress I?ve ever worn, but when I found out how much it cost, I told them to just take plenty of photos for posterity,? says Camille, whose preferred colors are black, white and red. ?I might not be able to wear such a dress again.?

For this interview, Camille is equally nondescript in a sleeveless, two-tone, off-white cotton shift by American mass-market brand Express. Her eye-catching pearl earrings and Cartier watch, she says, are gifts from her mom and two older brothers, respectively.

Camille admits to having a weakness for bags?she has a white Goyard tote?but she prefers to save up for them, rather than buy them on a whim.

Apart from bags (she also has a Chanel 2.55 and YSL Mombasa), she considers quality shoes and jewelry worth investing in. But she can never imagine herself spending an obscene amount on trendy designer clothes.

?I believe designer bags tend to loose their importance if you can readily buy them,? she says. ?I still remember the day I bought my first Louis Vuitton, a Speedy, on a trip to Paris. I saved up for it. It was so much cheaper to buy it there.?

No VIP treatment

Businessman Robert Castañeda, a former designer and a friend of the Villars by virtue of his association with ?Friends of Villar,? a private group advancing the senator?s presidential bid, attests to Camille?s aversion to instant gratification.

He once accompanied Camille to see Edwin Ngo, the local distributor of Cole Hann, to discuss business. She then shared with him how she once saved up as teenager to buy some of the brand?s latest leather offerings.

?I believe Camille, like her two brothers, isn?t spoiled,? says Castañeda. ?They weren?t raised to put premium on luxuries.?

But for him, the most telling indication of the Villar women?s supposed simplicity can be seen during unguarded moments. If she can help it, for instance, Cynthia, says Castañeda, refuses to be accorded VIP treatment.

She eats almost anything served in front of her during meetings and prefers to mingle with people than sit at presidential tables. She?s also unpretentious when it comes to entertaining big groups.

?She?d order packed lunches from Max?s or sometimes ask her cook to whip up a huge pasta,? he says. ?I?ve had the opportunity to see a number of powerful women up close. Unlike many of them, Cynthia doesn?t have an entourage or coterie trailing her.?

When we ask them if they?ve started beefing up their wardrobes as they face countless 24-hour days ahead in the senator?s presidential campaign, both say with unconcealed relish: ?Orange!?

?Orange is Manny?s campaign color,? says Cynthia. ?Aside from what we have in our closets, friends and supporters have been giving us all sorts of orange gifts.?

One thing that won?t likely end up in their campaign wardrobe, whether as gift or purchase, is an Hermes Birkin in trademark orange.

?That one we don?t have,? Camille says with a laugh. She isn?t planning to buy one in the immediate future.