CEBU, Philippines - Certified chic nomad Salvador Malto told me once during an afternoon tête-à-tête how he, after a highly successful launch of his swimwear line (The Company We Keep), packed his bags and headed to the much ballyhooed island of Boracay. Every morning, he unfurled his whisper thin animal print chiffon scarf and just randomly displayed his swimwear. For sale! What was first thought of as a week-long sale was shortened to a mere three days, with more beach bums clamoring for more swimwear, thereby derailing their remaining days to just fun in the sun and partying at night.
Salvador Malto’s dual obsessions, geometric construction and fluid draping, put his Summer Solstice collection of swimwear firmly in step with the onward march of fashion. Launched at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa’s Summer Fashion Frolics, his lycra bikinis came twisted and knotted at the joints, with laser printed cut outs on the décolleté and on more than a few runway ready (and seaworthy too) cover-ups and there were echoes of some of the fluidity best translated in his silk sack dresses.
But is there anything to set Salvador Malto apart and above other designers operating just below the harsh sun and gentle sea breeze? If anything, it’s his sense of color and coherence. In a season when established talents have relied too much on the safety of over-indulged brights, Sal, as he is called by friends and clients alike, paired bronze-y satin cover up with vertical lined two-piece suit and sent out one of the prettiest forest greens. His lemon yellow and absinthe silk halter translucent dress signal brighter days ahead—if not for the world at large, at least for him.
Bravissimo!