Former models fondly called Cesar Gaupo “Impo,” short for being impish, having a tiny frame, and his mischievous chuckles.
“Cesar loved to joke,” said designer Lulu Tan-Gan, longtime friend of the late fashion designer.
He was once asked, “”Sino pipiliin mo sa apat na lalaking anak ni Mr. Sy (Who are you going to choose among the four scions of taipan Henry Sy)?”
He replied, “Siyempre, Mr. Henry Sy Sr., no less at siya ang pinakamagaling. (Naturally, Mr Henry Sy Sr., no less. He is the best).”
Gaupo died in his sleep on Jan. 19, in the early hours after a night of celebrating his birthday with friends in the fashion industry. Gaupo’s birthday was Jan. 6.
Filipino tycoon Henry Sy Sr., Gaupo’s former employer and founder of the SM Group, also died in his sleep on the same date, Jan. 19.
Such coincidence wasn’t lost on the friends and associates of Gaupo, since he had considered the elder Sy and his daughter, Tessie Sy-Coson, as his mentors, longtime supporters and friends.
Close friends, shocked and left emotional by news of his death, paid tribute to him as a great yet humble pillar of Philippine fashion.
A high school graduate, Gaupo became one of the pioneers of local ready-to-wear, and, in the 1970s, was one of the prodigies of Sy-Coson, now vice chair of SM Investments Corp.
Sy-Coson, in her early years in the family business, headed the fashion merchandising of SM Store.
After his stint in local RTW at SM, Gaupo, at 54, became chief designer for the luxury lifestyle brand Shanghai Tang in Hong Kong.
At age 60, he created forward-looking ladies’ footwear and ventured into designing interiors.
He was executive design director for Onaeta de Loyola Holdings, a company that specializes in luxury beach clubs and restaurants.
Black night
“Cesar had big plans for the year,” said designer Mike dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa visited Gaupo recently at his tropical getaway in Majayjay, Laguna. Gaupo had bought two more lots adjoining his property because he planned to put up a bed-and-breakfast and a restaurant. He even showed Dela Rosa drawings of his tree house.
Then Dela Rosa asked him about his health. Former model Mara Spirig said friends sometimes called him “Cesar Goutpo” because he suffered from gout caused by high uric acid.
“He ate everything— peanuts and fatty foods. The level of his cholesterol was high. He wasn’t taking medication,” said Dela Rosa, who often advised Gaupo to see a doctor but the latter refused.
Last December, Gaupo contacted close friend Malyne
Fernandez-Lorayes, a modelturned-caterer.
Lorayes modeled for his first fashion show in 1972 at Hyatt, directed by Gary Flores. Even then, Gaupo already showed his trademark clean and fluid silhouette, feminine looking without the froufrou.
“Cesar was so young and full of hair then,” she remembered.
Gaupo asked Lorayes to do the food catering for his birthday party set for Jan. 18 at Bel-Air Clubhouse in Makati.
His party theme was foreboding. “Cesar wanted to make a statement. The dress code was black chinoiserie because he wanted an Asian look. He wanted the chairs, table covers and buffet table in black. I had to buy black Tiffany chairs for that event,” she said.
The table centerpieces were fuchsia carnations.
At 3 p.m. on the day of the party, Gaupo requested that a black ribbon be put around the vase, with four candles in the centerpiece.
Lorayes became uneasy. In Chinese superstition, four is an unlucky number because its spelling and pronunciation are the same as the word “death.”
Nonetheless, she used a square vase and placed the candles on each corner.
Dancing and flitting
Spirig and former model Wanda Louwallien arrived promptly at 6 p.m. They sat at their designated table near the band.
Friends waited for the religious minister to officiate the ceremony, and for special guests Coson and her sister Elizabeth Sy to arrive.
Another longtime friend, SM designer Anthony “Tonichi” Nocom, was surprised that Gaupo flitted from table to table, attending to guests. “He never did that before,” he said.
He was said to have eaten galantina and enjoyed the watercress salad with raspberry dressing. After dinner, the band played and Gaupo danced with so much energy.
Lorayes took videos of his dancing and shared it on Facebook. “Cesar doesn’t dance. He must have done it for the love of Tessie (Coson),” she said. The video showed a vivacious Gaupo subtly putting his hand on his chest as if to hide some discomfort.
Short of breath
When he went to the table of Spirig and Louwallien, he looked tired and was short of breath. He drank water, continued his table rounds and danced again. His model-friends and Dela Rosa sang for him.
Before Tan-Gan left, Gaupo hugged and kissed her and told her of his affection for her.
Around midnight, Gaupo’s family, former models, his longtime business partner Danny Mercado and his family passed around the microphone to express their love and gratitude to the celebrator.
One of Mercado’s children, who called him “Wowo,” thanked him for designing her first prom dress, which drew praises from her friends.
Nobody had the premonition that the party could be his goodbye. But looking back, his friends now wonder if Gaupo felt some foreboding that this birthday could be his last.
The next day, a client went to his condominium in Makati for a fitting appointment. There was no reply to her knocks and calls.
At 11 a.m. Spirig, who lived in the same building as Gaupo, got a call from Dela Rosa, who asked if the rumor of Gaupo’s death was true. She spotted an ambulance outside the building. She asked the guard who the ambulance was there for. He named Gaupo.
It turned out that Gaupo’s secretary had called the building administrator earlier to have the door of his unit opened. It was unusual for Gaupo not to answer the doorbell or phone calls.
Spirig met with the doctor at the Rockwell clinic, who said that Gaupo had been dead for several hours. She and Lorayes went upstairs to his bedroom. Accustomed to seeing Gaupo vivacious and energetic, they were shocked to see his lifeless body. Gaupo was in his pajamas. The blanket was drawn up to his chest.
Style
Since Saturday, friends had been reminiscing about Gaupo.
“Cesar was a great couturier,” said Tan-Gan. “His designs transcend trends and will always remain relevant. Cesar was a great sculptor in shaping and draping fabrics. His strength was unrivalled.
“In our fashion sector, Cesar was a mover, an inspiration. Being low-key, he didn’t think of his fashion as status symbol. It was more of an expression of his client’s personality.”
Said Dela Rosa: “His clothes were subtly sensual and had minimal embellishment. The simplicity of his clothes was balanced by his refined choice of shades and hues and the quality of the fabric.”
Added Barge Ramos: “In ready-to-wear, his designs were very wearable… Being in the business for a long time, he told us about the ‘hanger appeal.’ The garment should not only look good on the person, but should already draw attention on the rack. His designs were not complicated and easy to wear.”
Nocom recalled how Gaupo made a joke about a younger designer: “Bagets siya pero ang
tanda-tanda ng mga damit niya. Ang mga damit ko ay young pero matanda na ako. (That designer is young but his clothes look frumpy. My clothes are youthful even if I’m old).”
“Cesar was very current,” said Inno Sotto. “That he had many clients until his death was a testament to his relevance as a designer.”
Team player
Gaupo’s career spanned six decades—if one were to include his apprenticeship with couturier Aureo Alonzo.
After studying at Slim’s, he worked in a fashion house, Rose Vale, on Taft Avenue in Manila.
In a hotel fashion show, Coson found Gaupo’s clothes interesting and asked him to join SM (then called ShoeMart) Department Store.
Aside from assisting Coson in buying shoes and clothes, he became one of the house designers who created the store brands.
Gaupo eventually developed his own label while doing made-to-order clothes on the side.
He left SM in the late ’70s, but continued as a consigner. Gaupo then worked for Elite Garments.
In 1980, designers Ernest Santiago, Bubum Melgar, Tan-Gan and Ramos formed the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP) to professionalize the industry.
Ramos quoted columnist Jullie Yap-Daza as saying, “I’d give them six months.”
Ramos said the group wanted Gaupo to be the first president. “He was perfect because everybody looked up to him. Cesar was experienced and there was nothing negative about him.”
Gaupo was reluctant and said that he had never spoken before a big group. Ramos offered to be his speechwriter.
The core group—Chito Vijandre, Danny dela Cuesta, Santiago, Ramos and Tan-Gan—supported him. It was a landmark event as the induction of officers was held in the five-star Hyatt Regency, with then First Daughter Imee Marcos as honorary chairperson.
Ramos said Gaupo’s vision was to unite all the Filipino designers—including those from the other regions—and to bring improvements in the industry.
“He wanted the FDAP to be solid, to talk to the government about problems of the industry, and to fulfill the vision of Filipino designers,” said Ramos.
Unity of vision was one of the biggest challenges. “In a gathering of 60 to 100 designers, everybody would be opinionated. Other designers couldn’t see beyond their shops. Yet, Cesar listened. Patience was one of his greatest virtues. I don’t remember him ever losing his temper,” added Ramos.
FDAP has endured to this day with a new generation of designers.
Gaupo later left FDAP. In 1984, Auggie Cordero, Inno Sotto, Gaupo, Joe Salazar, and his close friend, Carlos “Caloy” Badidoy, and Gang Gomez (now the Benedictine monk, Dom Martin) founded the Filipino Designers Group (FDG). This group presented an annual gala that showed the best of Philippine fashion.
“Cesar was a fantastic team player. He didn’t have an ego. We mounted shows without any trouble,” recalled Sotto.
Height of career
About a decade later, a turning point came when Gaupo got a call from his model-turned-client Mylah Javier-Axel, who had been attending store openings in London and New York, wearing his clothes.
His designs caught the eye of her husband, John Axel, Shanghai Tang CEO, and that of the founder, David Tang.
Gaupo went through a series of interviews with Shanghai Tang and the luxury holdings company, Richemont Group. He impressed them not only with his designs but, more important, with his technical savvy and knowledge of costing, the latter expertise gained from working with SM.
Gaupo was appointed chief designer of Shanghai Tang, where he worked for seven years.
He went through a steep learning curve working for an international brand.
Nocom said Gaupo researched extensively for each collection. Coming from a tropical country, Gaupo taught himself how to create a fall-winter collection. He scoured the stores not only to study aesthetics, but to see what would appeal to the market.
Gaupo, who never knew how to send an e-mail, had to adapt to technology for business.
Eventually, the burdens of the job took their toll. Every year he needed to produce several collections for women’s and men’s clothes and accessories, and to attend the brand’s shows in New York and London.
He’d shuttle to Manila at least twice a month to meet regular clients of his made-to-order business. Although the sales of his clothing line at SM were peripatetic, Coson insisted on maintaining his brand.
In his last few years with Shanghai Tang, he worked from the Philippines and was paid for the approved designs.
In the mid-2000s, he developed his Gaupo Shoe Couture, born of a need to find the appropriate footwear for his clothes in fashion shows. Hence, he developed a pricey collection which was sold at Greenbelt 5.
Over time, Gaupo told friends that he was no longer enthusiastic about ready-to-wear. He pulled out his clothes from SM, and focused on custom-made orders.
Last year, he moved to a Makati condominium unit, which served as his home and office.
Gaupo died at age 72. He didn’t leave a will.
His cheerfulness and chuckles were enough lasting impression on anyone who encountered him. –CONTRIBUTED
