Natural-born designer • TC Alvarez-Sibal

MANILA, Philippines - The road of uncertainty is one filled with possibilities.

For designer TC Alvarez-Sibal, that road was well explored. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine that someone so sure of herself was burdened with the maybes of life.  Thus, she actually majored in Sociology at Assumption College. Her inclination towards fashion design was evident when she took up a fashion course at the San Francisco Academy of Art.

“When I joined Inno Sotto’s Fashion Watch in 1998, (Josie Natori) saw my collection and she asked me to move to New York and that kind of sealed the deal for me in terms of being a designer. I was with her for eight years. I kind of figured that that was going to be my career, my path,” TC says without regrets. 

This former Natori associate designer for lingerie, ready-to-wear and accessories is very amicable, but running a high-end fashion line is not a stroll in the park. “In my business, it’s very personal. You deal with all kinds of personalities. You deal with all kinds of emergency situations. So it has taught me to have a really cool mind under pressure. It’s taught me a lot of patience in dealing with different personalities. I no longer take things personally,” comments TC.

When she said goodbye to Natori in 2003, she gave Manila a big hello in 2008 with the launch of her own line, Two Chic. The much needed reprieve gave her time to raise a family (a son and a daughter); eventually, she was yearning to scratch an itch.

“I really missed being creative so I decided to come up with my own brand. My personal style is very relaxed, I don’t like structures. I’m very much into soft dressing. I like draping. I love embellishment. It’s a little bohemian. The color palette is bright. I love yellow, purple and orange. I used to be such a neutral person but I really love color now,” she expresses with twinkling eyes.  These are all reflected in her tunics, kaftans, summer dresses and in clothes with clashing prints or that mix florals with geometrics seen in her summer collection. She recently began part-time fashion consulting for Natori late last year.

TC has got that magical gift of glancing at a person and knowing in a snap what color and what style would look best on the person. She does this effortlessly. Her level of experience speaks for itself. At work she is hyper and super O.C. Everything has to be done a certain way.

“I’m ‘neurotic’ about things being in order in the house, too. I’m all about lists. Everything is listed down. I don’t like seeing anything not in its place or things that are not being used. It’s my pet peeve,” remarks the talented lady.

And perhaps this, along with her tenacity, is the pattern for this designer’s success.

Photography by RITA MARIE ABIOG • Creative direction and styling by LUIS ESPIRITU JR. • Makeup by BOBBY CARLOS, national makeup artist for Max Factor Philippines •

Hairstyling by JIM GUERRERO of L’Oréal Professionel • Both dresses by TWO CHIC • Jewelry by MILADAY JEWELS • Shot on location at the FAIRMONT LOBBY