State of Neutrality

CEBU, Philippines - The Imperial Palace Hotel launch featured two prolific designers this side of the fashion demimonde. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Edwin Alba. He might be relatively new to the industry, but this disciplined stylesetter isn’t short of experience: He spent more years working as a fashion designer to his immediate family and classmates at an early age.

Having established his studio at the second quarter of this year, Alba decided to take his show on the road, debuting the collection in the Philippine Fashion Week, the country’s style stomping ground, simply because he wanted to make things happen. At his poolside show in The Imperial Palace Hotel, “it’s something new for me, a resort line,” he said backstage. “I’m more known as a maker of formal clothes.” It was something new for the audience too, when, before the lights went down, models suddenly appeared and sat in lounge chairs as guests or perched themselves on the circular runway. Alba wasn’t about to do his show unprepared or anything as arch as that, though as his sand-toned collection was an instant hit. He opened with short dresses, empire-waist tunics, and dresses with carbuncle-like detailing that mingled with the breeze, paired with consistently hued menswear.

A potential differentiating point for this line is its use of technology—a “memory system technique” that allows fabrics to keep their original appearance was one instance; foil printing in copper and sterling silver was another. If fact, the real standout pieces in a somewhat pulled-thru line were the column dresses that evoked classical dress rather than anything high-tech (despite the fact they are made from “densely woven microscopic filaments”). The men’s line, with a distinct homage to the Barong Filipino but simplified for a resort feel, gave way to a series of silk-nylon goddess dresses—some trailing angel-winglike trailers—that brought to mind Valentino’s signature stamped formals. But by applying a deconstructive “pleat and release” approach, Edwin Alba left his own mark on the Grecian formula.

Bravissimo!