Efren Ocampo: Class A all the way

There are only two places where you are likely to meet Efren Ocampo – the tennis court or a fashion event.

On the tennis court, Efren is a strong, aggressive and fearless player. His strokes are mean and powerful, and at the same time he is a steady baseline player, a retriever who hits every ball.

In the fashion industry, Efren is a strong and aggressive player in the RTW game. Consistently one of SM Shoemart’s bestselling designers, Efren is a no-nonsense couturier who rose to the top through hard work, talent and dedication. He is likewise outspoken and fearless, one who will never tolerate dishonesty and malice among fashion pretenders.

But do not tremble when you meet Efren Ocampo. He is actually a fun person, so lovable, warm and witty.

In the ’70s, I saw him as a future fashion provocateur. In the ’80s, I saw him play as a terror on the tennis courts. Now, Efren Ocampo is a Class A player all the way, whether on the ramp or on the court.

PHILIPPINE STAR: You started out as assistant to Dante Ramirez in the 1970s, a designer who was known for his very haute-couturish pictorial-pretty black, slim long gowns, often accessorized for that dramatic effect. Now, you are a successful designer known for your very wearable, no-nonsense ready-to-wear dresses and gowns. Isn’t that ironic?

EFREN OCAMPO: When you remove the accessories, what you have in Dante’s clothes are very simple clothes. He added all those accessories and hats to make his pictorials look dramatic. I must say Dante and I are two different designers with different fashion philosophies. His pictorials were really something. He would make a good fashion editor.

Did you feel then that haute couture was just nice to look at but the big bucks could come in the RTW business of dressing up a bigger market?

I felt there was money in both made-to-order and RTW. It’s just that RTW suits my temperament.

What fashion lessons did you learn from Dante Ramirez? What were the best things he taught you?

The sense of drama. That simple clothes can be dramatic given the proper treatment and accessories.

How was he as a mentor?

He was very passionate with what he was doing. He gave it his best. But one thing I can tell you, he demanded loyalty, from the staff to the models.

Dante chose only very tall and very thin models and gave them distinct names like Dayangdayang and Electrika, who is now the mother of Sarah Meier. Many of his models went far in modeling.

Yes, there were Doha, Doremi, Daffodil, Djukumi, etcetera. This is Dante’s legacy. He began using models that were against the norm and at that time considered "ugly." The models then were tisay and pretty.

What made Dante give up fashion and where is he now?

I really can’t say what made him close shop. I guess he is the best person to answer this. He lives and works in San Francisco now. I see him there once in a while.

After apprenticeship with Dante, where did your career path go?

I went to New York to study fashion design, draping, cutting at the Traphagen Institute of Fashion. I worked on Seventh Avenue as an assistant designer for a few companies.

How did you start your own shop? Who were your first customers?

I came back in March 1980 after four years in New York. I started with one sewer and I did all the cutting. My first customers were Baby Frieke and the Hechanova clan. Yes, Mely and her daughters. Baby Girl introduced me to her and few of her friends. That is how I started. I was doing made-to-order clothes.

When was your first fashion show?

In 1982 at Silahis International Hotel, where Dionne Warwick saw my collection and bought gowns from me.

What made you decide to join SM’s roster of RTW designers?

In August 1983 when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated, business was so bad. Nobody came to have their clothes made. I decided to make a few samples and give RTW a try. I went to SM’s buying offices and submitted the samples. They ordered one style and the rest is history.

In your experience, what kind of clothes sell and don’t sell in the Philippines’ RTW market?

Clothes that are simple, wearable and practical sell. Clothes that do not move are the ones that are "demanding," so to speak. By that I mean you have to have a model’s figure, you have to be thin, you have to be chic and the average buyer is anything but.

What have been your all-time bestsellers?

Pants, blouses, blazers, gowns. In general, some RTW items don’t sell because they have the wrong fabric, wrong design, bad fitting, or are too sexy.

How do you describe the average Pinay dresser?

A conservative dresser. She is aware of trends and what is happening around her. But the average Filipino woman has little disposable income compared to her counterparts in countries like Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia. So she buys clothes that she can wear to the office, to church, to just about everywhere she goes. Kailangan sulit ang ibabayad.

What is your biggest satisfaction as a RTW designer?

That after 20 years in RTW, I am still here and selling well.

Your biggest frustration?

That you have to compromise a lot. You have to dilute trends so they can be adapted by the market. Your artistic side is hampered by the dictates of the market. This is a business after all and at the end of the day you have to sell. There is no use for clothes that are beautiful to look at but don’t sell.

What are the biggest problems of RTW designers?

Yung usual problem – tela, butones, zipper, etc. Limited ang pwede mong gawin. Creativity is somewhat hampered because one is always conscious of prices or you want to introduce new trends but the market is not ready. On the other hand, working with these limitations can be challenging and if working within the box is what it is then...

How do you decide which trends to push? Do you dictate or would you rather go with the trends?

As I said, the market is the one dictating. Sometimes we put out items because I like to do them and because the look is new and fresh pero hindi nabibili, so we don’t produce those anymore or they will end in the sale items.

How do you describe your style? What influences or inspires you?

My style is simple and wearable. A lot of things inspire me – fabrics, color, paintings grain of stones, people I see in parties, in the streets.

Who are your idols?

Benigno Aquino, Winnie Monsod, Evonne Goolagong, Pete Sampras, Ang San Sun Kyi, Mandela, Tessie Sy-Coson, Ben Chan, Billie Jean King, among others.

Who are in your best-dressed list? Who are your favorite customers?

One doesn’t necessarily have to wear expensive designer clothes or be in the latest trends to be well-dressed. It can be a T-shirt from Baclaran and your lola’s patadyong. It is how you put it together that makes all the difference. You have to have the right attitude, good skin, wonderful manners, it should all be there. Baby Girl Frieke, Kuh Ledesma, Mai Mai Cojuangco, Lizzie Zobel, Margarita Fores, Toni Parsons, Mia Borromeo, to name a few. I hardly do made-to-order, most of my work is RTW. But my favorite customer would be the one who respects my work as a designer and will give me the freedom to do what I have to do.

What’s your favorite decade in fashion? Why?

The ’60s. This is the era when all hell broke loose. This was a revolution of sorts. Rules and mores came tumbling down. Women were demanding rights. There was the Civil Rights Movement. Gays and lesbians fought back and demanded their rights. Racism and apartheid were deemed unacceptable. Fashion, music, culture were in full bloom. The streets were throbbing with humanity protesting the Vietnam war. "Make Love, Not War" was the battle cry. A lot of the things we see now are probably an offshoot of that era. I think it would be a long time before anything like that will happen again.

If you could bring back a trend, which would this be?

The mini skirt, because it is always sexy and fresh. Though it is here, it is not just as popular because right now, fashion is anything goes. As they say kung carry mo – go ahead.

Who are your best friends in the fashion industry?

Mike dela Rosa, Loretto, Cesar Gaupo, Lulu Tan Gan, the Filipino Designers Guild.

What do you find most disgusting in an industry filled with intrigues?

When people take glee when somebody is down or having a hard time. It’s the crab mentality all over again. I have always lived by the philosophy – Live and let live.

Are you affected by fashion reviews? How do you feel about them?

I would be a hypocrite if I said I’m not affected. All artists want their works to be appreciated. I can take an objective review. But if the review is malicious and the writer wants to be controversial or he wants a good sound byte, it is most foul. Two of the most vicious fashion reviewers had axes to grind and it showed in their writing.

One was a failed designer and the other was aspiring to be one. This failed designer turned actor turned painter turned stylist turned writer – ano ba talaga, kuya? In his review he said I should retire. Imagine a failed designer asking me, a successful RTW designer, to stop designing?

The aspiring designer alienated a lot of people with her writing, tearing to pieces a lot of designers and before you could ask who she was, she was already showing a line of her own. Her writing took a negative slant, making fun of people, and indirectly making the reader feel how rich she is. She actually has a look and has something to say fashion-wise. I would have respected her more if she made a name through hard work and talent rather than by putting down fashion designers.

Some designers have been guilty of blatantly copying from foreign and local designers. Some young designers lack creativity or are too lazy to do their homework so they resort to copying. Aside from copying, what’s the biggest crime a designer can do?

Not copying well enough.

What’s your advice to young designers?

It takes a while before you develop your own style. So, it’s normal to be influenced by other designers. It’s how art or fashion grows. Nothing is really original. Everything has been done before. What is original is your interpretation of a certain style.

During the height of the recent global recession, a European designer suggested that fashion shows were becoming irrelevant and useless and boring, and should be stopped altogether. What do you think?

Fashion shows are still relevant, because they are a means to promote the label, the line. For example, John Galliano of Christian Dior. I don’t think people really buy his clothes because they’re over the top and too costumey. But they’re fashion statements. And if the House is trying to project, then there’s relevance. It’s part of the PR project to push not only his RTW, but also Dior accessories and even perfumes. But if a House is just relying on haute couture sales, it may not be able to justify an expensive fashion show.

Who are the designers you admire?

I admire Cesar Gaupo, Steve de Leon, Larry Espinosa, Joe Salazar, Mike dela Rosa, Inno Sotto, Dennis Lustico at marami pa.

What contribution to Philippine fashion would you like to leave as a legacy?

That I did well-made, affordable clothes available to many and if it made their lives a little easier, I would be happy.

Your advice to aspiring designers.

A few years ago, I met this young designer who just won one of the competitions here in Manila. As I was talking to him, I felt he was flaunting his award. Ang sabi ko sa sarili ko ang ganda nito. And you know, I don’t hear of him now. I don’t know where he is and what he is doing. So to young designers, there is no substitute for hard work, discipline and continuity.

Your advice to fashionistas.

Let them be. Kung masaya sila doon, di sige.

What is your definition of fashionistas?

Fashionistas go for whatever is the trend, even if it does not fit them.

Your favorite shopping places?

Glorietta and Shoemart.

You travel a lot. What places in the world excite you?

Cambodia, because of its temples and culture. Parang ang lalim. Burma, because of its temples and culture also. The old capital, Bagan, is a sight to see. India is irritating and fascinating at the same time. You are constantly harassed by Touts if they know you are a tourist. But the culture, the food, the saris, the colors are just amazing. Egypt, because walking through their monumental pyramids, you can almost feel the presence of Cleopatra. Helsinki, because of its midnight sun.

What will you be doing 10 years from now?

I will still be designing, but I’d like to take up causes like the environment and reforestation.

How do you de-stress?

I play tennis. And I read.

Yes, you are a Class A tennis player.

Well, I have the trophies to prove.

If you hadn’t gone into fashion, what would you have been?

Pwede bang mag-fantasy? I would have been a world-class tennis player.