Fashion’s phoenix
June 7, 2006 | 12:00am
It’s a name straight out of the past. Spoken in a tone reserved for legends. Thought of with reverence, for we never quite figured out how her story ended.
Azabache: Strangely familiar to my generation, but to the preceding Baby Boomers, it’s a name that instantly merits recognition. The fashion line created by designer Helena Carratala, then Helena Guerrero, first burst onto the scene in the ’70s, purveying gowns with glamorous silhouettes, unconventional details, and an unlikely all-black palette (once a fashion taboo for Filipinos). The high-fashion set celebrated these creations in the same way Azabache’s designer celebrated life with famed parties as grand and lavish as her creations.
By the beginning of the ’90s, however, the name had slipped away from immediate consciousness. Azabache, it seems, at Helena’s will, ended its run, leaving its audience hanging, speculating on Helena’s present by recounting her past.
Helena Carratala, who came to the Philippines in 1969 as the bride of high-society son Wahoo Guerrero, trained with no less than design dissenter Jean-Paul Gaultier. The French creator came to Manila in 1971 as principal designer for Pierre Cardin and Helena acted as his translator and assistant. Before Gaultier left Manila after a three-year stint, he taught Helena everything she needed to know, and encouraged her to become a designer. Helena responded to his encouragement by hiring cutter Flora de Leon, a veteran who had gathered experience working with Joe Salazar, Pitoy Moreno, and Aureo Alonzo. In 1974, Helena formally launched her clothing line, Azabache.
By 1982, Helena Carratala had made Manila’s fashionable set embrace black, and more vivid orange and purple (her signature colors). She was selling in every Shoemart branch and was displayed in boutiques in Tokyo, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Riding on a successful high, Helena tried to extend her fashion reach to New York. She had to start from scratch and had to eat her share of humble pie, but eventually her creations gained retail space in renowned style institutions such as Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.
Sometime during the ’90s, however, Helena Carratala had a change of heart and mind. She knew about the roller-coaster ride success affords, and after a particularly turbulent run, she decided to get off. Three of her friends had passed away because of AIDS, and Helena coped by leaving the fashion design industry.
She changed her mind in 2004 with the birth of her granddaughter, Anika. Helena came back to the Manila after more than two decades, found herself, and rediscovered her calling.
"There is a true love story between myself and the Filipino people," Helena serenely confides. The Philippines has shown her so much faith and support, from the time she launched Azabache to her eventual return, even despite the long absence. "I am shocked and touched by all the love." And she’s decided to give it all back. Thirty years after creating Azabache and more than a decade after her hiatus from fashion, Helena Carratala is back, spouting inspired words about a project she has called Mangenguey.
Mangenguey is Helena Carratala’s legacy, one she has chosen to bequeath to the Filipino people. Named after an island in Busuanga, Palawan, Mangenguey began as Helena’s design comeback but will ideally end up as an island home for artists and individuals "who believe in working for the preservation of the human spirit through the arts, and building in harmony with nature." It is a utopian culture that seeks and provides spiritual rejuvenation to members within Palawan’s pristine environment, as well as fosters social progress and responsibility by championing Filipino art and craftsmanship.
Helena’s ode to the Philippines, through Mangenguey, began with a project involving the preservation of the platero or silverwork tradition that abounds in Meycauayan, Bulacan, and Baguio. This craft dates back to the Spanish era and has been handed down through the generations, from father to son. Helena sees how mass production threatens this tradition. Through a jewelry collection called "Inspired Jewelry by Helena Carratala," she hopes to return recognition to this lofty craft.
The designer combines the intricate filigree designs that have been the platero trademark with black onyx, synthetic diamonds, and freshwater pearls to create chunky jewelry with the unique, offbeat touch Helena gained and never lost from her internship with Gaultier.
To set off her inspired jewelry, Helena also created a dazzling set of clothes reminiscent of Azabache’s majesty. Using colorful, hand-dyed and gold-stamped fabric from Senegal, Helena creates what she calls "Afro-Philippine gowns," and extends the possibilities of simple cotton fabric by adding copious detail and capacious silhouettes. She has also unearthed collectibles from her Azabache days: geometric full-skirted gowns and slinky, beaded shifts (but she lets on that recreation of her past designs is not a priority).
"Mangenguey is the fulfillment of every dream I have ever dreamed," Helena resolutely announces. It may have taken decades to fully recognize, but Carratala is not one to sulk over lost time. "Azabache is the past and Mangenguey is the future. I’m ready to embrace the future. I still have a lot of passion to give."
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