Where style meets heritage

MANILA, Philippines - Designer Lito Perez has been in the costume business for 30 years now. His shop, Camp Suki, is a favorite haunt of students and professionals. A big fan of theatrical costuming since his high school days, as well as being completely taken with life in the Victorian era and turn-of-the-century Philippines, Perez let his instincts guide him into establishing what is now the biggest costume resource in the country, with a staggering collection of thousands of period dresses, headpieces, and accessories that cater to every whim and fantasy.

While growing his costume rental enterprise, Perez likewise earned his niche in the firmament of Philippine fashion. A former president of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines on whose board he remains active till today, Perez’s works range from the avant-garde to conservatively simple pieces with a twist. History is his biggest inspiration, and he often experiments with textures and treatments anchored on the Maria Clara and barong.

A graduate of Interior Design from the University of the Philippines, Perez has also taken on a personal mission to preserve ancestral homes for adaptive reuse. For over five years now, he has been scouting around for “white elephants” among colonial homes in the countryside and has painstakingly managed to restore two properties: Villa Tortuga in Taal, Batangas, and the Arce Mansion in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. He is currently working on his third and most ambitious project to date: the former Vincentian seminary in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, which sources say is even older than the University of Santo Tomas.

The wide wooden staircases gleam with painstaking polish, leading up to airy living rooms with high ceilings and quaint capiz windows, sliding ventanillas, long wooden tables, butakas, and ornate colonial furniture atop shiny foot-wide planks that comprise the flooring.

In the bedrooms, adornments from yesteryear such as four-poster beds, religious images, rocking chairs, draperies, commodes and trunks are tastefully arranged. Both traditional bahay-na-bato with two main bedrooms, the houses each have a lower floor put to utilitarian use. At Villa Tortuga, Perez has set up a small curio shop, while the Arce Mansion has a bedroom downstairs big enough to accommodate up to 30 people on home stay.

Inspired by his travels to the United Kingdom where heritage preservation is given a premium, Perez took the bed-and-breakfast concept further and now stages living history tours in Taal and Vigan, enabling guests to savor the colonial experience as they dine in lush, 19th-century surroundings while garbed in the fashion of the era. Traditional entertainment is also provided. Those who wish to stay overnight may do so, comfortably resting on cool abel iloko beddings and lace-frothed pillows — with modern conveniences to boot. As a memento, each guest is given a sepia photograph of himself in full costumed glory.

A throwback to what the denizens of Taal and Vigan must have worn two centuries ago, the costumes guests are invited to wear tell the magnificent story of the colonial period. Rich and rewarding in color and design, they comprise a nostalgic fashion gallery both fascinating and illuminating. The house itself literally comes alive as guests indulge in costume role-play the Camp Suki way.

Lito Perez’s take on heritage tourism initiatives has already inspired residents in various areas to look at their ancestral homes in a new light. Admittedly restoration costs can be quite costly, but Perez shows that with just a couple of handymen following his instructions with painstaking care, even over a long period of time, the manses of yore can be given a nip and tuck to bring them back into shape instead of allowing them to fall into decay and disrepair. And with his well-researched costumes adding a unique touch, visitors to Villa Tortuga and the Arce Mansion realize that the ultimate guardians of heritage are they themselves.

Villa Tortuga is located at M. Agoncillo corner V. Ilustre Street, Taal, Batangas, while the Arce Mansion is at 87 Quirino Boulevard corner Abaya Street, Vigan, Ilocos Sur. For bookings and other enquiries, call Camp Suki at 725-0819, mobile 0917-824-6900 or visit www.campsuki.com.