College dropout makes it big in fashion

MANILA, Philippines - At 24, Marc Rancy is the only Filipino designer to be certified this year by the global brand for crystals, Swarovski, in using genuine crystals from Austria for his personally-designed gowns.

As such he is included in the official magazine of Swarovski, circulated in all its accredited partners and growing industrial clientele and retailers.

Rancy had been fond of drawing and designing gowns ever since high school at Elizabeth Seton School in Las Piñas, a hobby that at first he thought he could not take seriously as a career but which later turned out to be his profession and business.

When he finished high school, he enrolled at the College of St. Benilde (CSB) taking up business administration because he wanted to be a businessman. But after two years, he decided he wanted to be in the arts so he shifted to multimedia arts thinking that he will just pursue his passion for designing on the side.

One day, a friend of his had a sister who was going to attend a prom and needed a gown. So the friend asked him to design the gown and they will just have it sewn by someone else. But Rancy insisted to do the entire package and he charged P5,600 for the gown, which was his first source of income. He hired a sewer and when the gown was finished, the client fitted it in his house and was all praises for the piece.

This gratitude and overflowing praises overwhelmed him that he decided to make it his business and have a full-blown shop. But first he had to put up a website, to promote his business, and he asked a peer from multi media arts to do his website. Then he borrowed P13,000 from his mother to make four to five gowns to display on the website. This started everything, he said.

Since demand for gowns is seasonal, he decided to take three orders of corporate uniforms and with the downpayments, he bought the materials for the uniforms, sewing machines, cutting tables and other office needs. This kept him going.

Then, an American friend visited and he joked the friend about putting some investment (although he could readily ask his parents for it) in his company for expansion not thinking that the friend would take this joke seriously. The friend chipped in P300,000. On learning this investment, the entire family (mother, father and siblings) also put in their shares in the corporation such that in the end the American had 27 percent, he with 40 percent and the balance shared by his family members.

He charges P65,000 to P75,000 per piece of wedding gown and for a full entourage, P250,000 to P280,000. By 2008 he put up his current office along Buendia Avenue. During peak periods, he only accepts 10 orders at most from October to February but during lean months (summer to September), he takes in four to six orders. During peak periods there are 12 sewers working on the orders and during lean period, 8 sewers.

He distinctly and fondly recalls a client who ordered in 2009 for the entire entourage of her wedding. “Since then, my shop had been booked with so many orders. She was sort of my lucky charm,”  he said.

He was invited by the Philippine consulate in New York to do a large window display showcasing Filipino ingenuity on 5^th Avene this November. The other Filipino invited was New York-based designer Rob Tomas, son of comedian Tessie Tomas.

His company, Luxe Wear International, has a Chinese partner (brand name Cheng) in New York.

He expects to get into retail by opening a boutique in a mall but for now he has been actively participating in exhibits like the Bridal Fairs every September, the Philippine Fashion Week every May and October and the November exhibit on 5^th Avenue in New York.

Right now, he said he is happy with what he is doing because this is his passion. He dropped out of college but he is working out with CSB the possibility of shifting to designing as his course. “If CSB will not allow then I will wait for the time that I will enrol in design abroad,” he told The Star.

He admits that weddings are seasonal but professional gown makers like him normally book weddings a year before, and the shortest notice that he could allow is four months (which is really super rush) and for which he charges really very high (like in his last order from Italy for an entire entourage).

Half of his bookings are from abroad, through the Internet and he has booked orders from Abu Dhabi, Italy, US, London, Australia, Tokyo, Qatar and other parts of Japan.