I did not see Auggie rise from a fledgling couturier to the accomplished couturier that he is now. When I met him in the early ’80s, he was already one of Manila’s most sought-after designers. His atelier at the Malate-Remedios area was always filled with fashionistas of all ages, all wanting to be dressed by Cordero.
His initiation into the fashion world started in 1970 when he put up a humble little shop on Pedro Gil Street, in front of the Assumption Convent near St. Paul and UP. His early clients were students from these schools. Leave it to the youth to advertise an up-and-coming designer. Soon he was making waves in fashion circles, and his reputation as an excellent designer reached the grande dame of fashion Chito Madrigal. Ms. Madrigal was the organizer of the daily luncheon shows at the chic restaurant La Concha in the Hyatt Hotel, where the who’s who of Manila society gathered for lunch and dinner.
In 1973, Cordero got his break when he was tapped for a three-week show at La Concha. His collection was inspired by the romantic fashion of the movie The Great Gatsby, starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford. The show was a huge success and after the first week, La Concha was overflowing with clients at lunchtime. It was standing-room-only, but guests did not seem to mind it just to be able to watch this new designer’s exciting collection.
Then the Thrilla in Manila came and Auggie was tapped by CBS for a luncheon fashion show again at the Hyatt. Manila had guests from all over the world to watch Muhammad Ali, who was billeted at the Hyatt, and Frazier, who was at the Hilton. It was an exciting time in Manila and again Cordero was the luncheon crowd drawer. His collection was Filipino-inspired, to show the foreign guests our beautiful Filipiniana costumes.
In 1974, Hyatt sponsored him and took him to Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and in 1975, Hyatt again got him for a fashion show in Hong Kong. There was no stopping his rise to fame as one of Asia’s promising fashion designers.
He had a fashion show every three months and sponsors did not hesitate to take his shows abroad. When he joined some Hong Kong designers for a show in Australia, he was featured in Australian Vogue and was on the front page of the major dailies almost every day for the three weeks that he was there. His impact was such that he had a show every three months. He had successful shows in Hawaii, LA, and San Francisco in the late ’70s, and in 1984, his dream to have a show in the Big Apple was realized. It was a sold-out crowd composed of the international community of New York, as well as the Pinoy New Yorkers, that gave him a standing ovation for an excellent collection.
In 1981, the yearend issue of Asia Week was on fashion and it featured talented and famous Asian designers. Among those featured were big-time Japanese designers Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori. But Cordero bested them all by landing on the front cover with his models.
Auggie had a sharp eye for discovering potential supermodels. Among those he discovered and used in a lot of his shows were Menchu Menchaca Soriano; Ana Bayle, who became an international model in Paris, Italy and New York; Margie Moran, whom he convinced to join the Binibining Pilipinas and who won the Miss Universe crown; Marilen Ojeda; Susan Reyes; and STAR fashion columnist Joyce Oreña.
Every famous designer has a muse – someone who stirs their fantasies and inspires them to create, someone who can wear their designs with that certain élan that makes them stand out in a crowd. Yves Saint Laurent had Loulou de la Falaise as his muse, Karl Lagerfeld had Ines de la Fressange, Givenchy had Audrey Hepburn, Oleg Cassini had Jacqueline Kennedy. Auggie’s muse is Tingting Cojuangco. There is a special rapport between them and she brings out the best in him. Tingting has the bone structure of a delicate ballerina and the fact that she can look good in just about everything she puts on gives Auggie carte blanche to indulge in his fantasies when he designs for her. She is one client who does not have to go for fittings. His sewers know her measurements to a T. There is a mutual respect and admiration between the two and to this day, even if she patronizes other designers, Auggie remains her favorite couturier. Proof of this was the wedding of her daughter Mai Mai in Italy. It was Auggie who made her Filipiniana gown and those of the bridal entourage.
What struck me about Auggie Cordero from the first moment I stepped into his atelier in the early ’80s was his professionalism. He was always on time for his appointments with his clients, and always gave them what they asked for. He would research different books and magazines just to give his clients the designs they wanted. He would innovate a Filipiniana design to suit a customer’s look and occasion. He made me a modern version of a Maria Clara because I looked short and cluttered in the original version. With Auggie’s Maria Clara, I looked elegant and sleek. When I wore it to a function in New York City, a US senator’s wife complimented it generously.
He manages to keep abreast of the fickle dictates of fashion without compromising elegance and good taste. One has no risk of looking like a fashion victim when wearing a Cordero design.
Auggie makes it a point to interact with his clients. Soon after the first order is made, the client becomes a friend. "I value my clients’ friendships. Interacting with them helps me to create for them as I get to know their personalities better. Not all my clients have stayed with me all these years. I understand that they also want to try other designers. But they have remained my friends."
This is a different era in the fashion world. With our economy not doing so well and with cheap imports from China and other neighboring countries sold in tiangges and inexpensive boutiques, rare is the customer who will indulge in haute couture like they did in the past. The golden age of fashion has gone down with our economy. But Cordero’s atelier is still brimming with action. He is booked till late next year in terms of wedding gowns. Aside from long gowns and short formals, he accommodates his customers’ orders for office wear, resort wear, and casuals. He is not strictly for formal wear. I bumped into a prominent lady lawyer in Auggie’s atelier fitting a dozen suits for office wear. "After all these years, Auggie knows my taste in suits. I order them by the dozen every six months as it’s my daily office wear," this faithful client told me.
Cordero knows that he is in a service-oriented business. Good service is exactly what he gives his clients. A wedding gown is usually ready a week before the wedding date.
Time has not dated Cordero. He is still the same creative and hardworking designer that I knew in the ’80s. "I have no thoughts of retiring in the near future. As long as I can still create and my clients are still honoring me with their orders, I will be there for them!"
This is what makes Cordero the success that he is today. His clients are his first and foremost priority. And the good news is, he will be around for a quite a long time.