IN “FACE-OFF: A Cut Above the Rest,” Inquirer Lifestyle To Be You showcased the original works of students from four fashion and design schools in the metro—Slim’s Fashion and Arts School, SoFA Design Institute, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde and Fashion Institute of the Philippines (FIP).
Held last November at SM Megamall’s Fashion Hall, the event offered a glimpse into this generation’s brand of innovation and creativity. Meet the first half of the designers of FIP.
Brit Tripudio
Brit’s piece was inspired by today’s trends in fashion. Printed with a statement-making “Birth of Venus,” the oversized bomber jacket took him a day to make. The rest of the ensemble—the see-through culottes and the white shirt, which is his favorite—took five days to finish.
His first idea was to create a black sweater with panels all sewn together in a decorative fagoting stitch. A teacher advised him to add more shapes and a silhouette to it. Meanwhile, a friend assisted him with printing a photo onto the cloth that Brit cut and put together—eventually leading to the oversized jacket.
Brit has always dreamed of working in fashion; he was already following Roberto Cavalli as early as 1998. He also counts his mother as his inspiration and hopes his hard work and doing what he loves most make her proud.
The fashion design graduate plans to release a luxe street wear and couture line in his hometown, Angeles City. He also wants to become an international designer.
Jay Cordero Tillo
Depression and death were the two key inspirations of Jay’s piece that took him a week to accomplish. The young designer faced challenges from the start. “Balance is important when doing macramé, the tie should not be too loose or too fit as this could affect the overall look and shape of the garment. At the end of the day, I learned to appreciate imperfection and imbalance,” he says.
Fashion is something that he truly loves, and he pursued it even after having careers in nursing and education. He says fabric warehouses excite and inspire him to do design. A fan of Alexander
McQueen and John Galliano, he is also inspired by darker experiences of life such as depression, pain, rejection and death.
Jay plans to continue learning more about fashion and crafts. He dreams of studying in Japan’s Bunka Fashion College.
Khate Caroline Alaba
After graduating with a BS Interior Design degree from the University of Santo Tomas in 2009, Khate completed a fashion design course at FIP five years later. Her piece was inspired by her idea of how a modern career woman should dress, someone who “demands comfort and luxury at the same time.”
Khate favors little details such as the inverted darts she placed in her green jumpsuit and trench coat. She also loves the paper-like feeling of her white painted playsuit, as well as its pockets.
Focused on her private practice in interior design, Khate hopes to save enough for her future retail brand.
Photography Maika Anthoni
Sittings editor Luis Carlo San Juan
Makeup and hairstyle Miko Dacanay
Model Alaiza Malinao of Mercator Model Management
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