Cebuano Ronald Villavelez did not fully realize his artistic calling until later in life. He entered college to study Civil Engineering at the University of San Carlos.
Ronald explains, “In the middle of the second semester in my first year, I was hired as a part-time fashion designer by a local ready-to-wear company called Jaques (it’s exactly how it was spelled, without a ‘c’). So, I juggled my time between school and Jaques, where I was required to spend two to three hours a day.”
Ronald joined the 1994 Philippine Young Designers Competition in Manila and won the right to be part of the Philippine delegation to the international competition in Paris, France that same year. During that time minimalism was on a surge, and he got bored with fashion. Around this time, he rediscovered his passion for writing, left designing to pursue the craft of poetry. It wasn’t long before he got fellowships to two prestigious national writers’ workshops, the UP and the Dumaguete National Writers’ Workshops. When he got back in Cebu after the Dumaguete workshop, he landed several writing jobs. For 10 years, he worked as a freelance writer (writing art, lifestyle and business features) for all the major local dailies and magazines, while doing day jobs as managing editor for a New York-based bankruptcy newsletter, and copy and content manager for Bigfoot Communications.
It was during Ronald’s stint at Bigfoot that he decided to open his own shop. “During those years, a lot of my friends, including friends from high school and college, were already getting married,” shares Ronald. “I did their wedding gowns for no profit at all. It was all for the love of the creative work and as my gift to them (I only asked my friends to pay for the materials and the labor). So, one friend after another came, until a friend’s friend and so on. It prompted me to put up my shop and professionalize my design services.”
How does the Cebuano clientele differ from the Manila group? “I think it’s common knowledge that the Cebuano market is more frugal and fastidious than its Manila counterpart. I guess it just means Cebuanos always want value for their hard-earned money. I heard somewhere that if a product made it in the Cebu market, it definitely should make it anywhere else in the country.”
His shop doesn’t even have any visible signage or a display window. He has not even participated in any major fashion show, whether in Manila or Cebu. Although, in February, he held his first ever solo show at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Ronald’s first client was none other than the indefatigable Tessa Prieto-Valdes. He met her at the Levi’s Denim Show at Waterfront Hotel in 2004. His very first wedding gown was for a high school classmate. His client list includes Cebuano socialites Maybelline Te, Agnes Huettel, Dr. Vivina Chiu Yrastorza, Rere Dakay, the Gaisanos, the Gos (of Sulpicio Shipping Lines) and philanthropist and community leader Rufina Tanchan. About 90 percent of Ronald’s clientele is composed of the Filipino-Chinese segment of the local market. Ronald thinks that is the biggest market that is sustaining the couture business in Cebu.
For the past five years, Ronald has been creating dresses with elaborately handcrafted details. His creations are not ornate as he deals mostly with fabric-on-fabric detailing. Many gowns take two to four months to finish as they are hand-detailed. Ronald believes that the kind of labor he and his staff put into a dress is what differentiates his design from others. Ronald says it’s his style that digs deep into the soul of the fabric.
Already Ronald is scouting for a place to house his atelier in Manila. Also in the works are plans for a pret-a-porter line.
Ronald has this advice to share with budding designers, “This job takes a lot of patience and hardwork. I think it’s foremost that aspiring designers must be hardworking and patient. While I spend considerable amount of time working on my sketchpad, running my shop, doing the nitty-gritty of production and financial management, I also spend hours and hours draping cloth and doing moulage on a mannequin. There are times I really have to do a dress all by myself. Maybe that’s why I practically have no social life to speak of because I spend an average of 12 hours a day in my shop, sometimes seven days a week, when my work schedule calls for it. Well, the only time I go out, on a normal given day, is when I go to the gym for my regular weight training.”
Photography by JOANNE ZAPANTA-ANDRADA • Model: MIA AYESA • All clothes by RONALD VILLAVELEZ (0920-9286238) • Accessories by NOREEN TSENG and MARK TENCHAVEZ for SHANDAR • Special thanks to ANTON BARRETTO of Nest