Inno celebrates 30th year with 'Muse' ready-to-wear line and new scents at Rustan's

MANILA, Philippines - Tonight, Inno Sotto is celebrating his 30th year in the business of fashion at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. And while we might see him solely basking in the applause by the end of the evening, he has humbly issued an early disclaimer — by calling the collection he is presenting tonight “Muse,” his long-overdue ready-to-wear line to be sold exclusively at Rustan’s Makati for a limited time beginning this holiday season.  

To hear the designer tell it, “Muse” is another result of his ongoing conversation with the women who inspire him — his muses who, without them knowing it, have assisted Inno’s hands in designing this collection. While throughout his three-decade career, he has sourced inspiration from film, theater and music, nature and architecture, he has always been vocal about his gratitude towards his swans: Samantha Eduque, Lizzie Zobel, Bea Valdes, Margarita Fores, among them. “It is not just their style that inspires me, it’s how they think,” says Inno. “It’s a blessing to have something to constantly draw from, and it’s a blessing to have been able to get to know them better.” 

But there is another side, to the word “Muse,” says Inno, that he hopes to capture in tonight’s show. “The Muse represents the quintessential fashion/piece or item of the moment. Everyone is in search of her and wants to get hold of her,” the designer explains. “Once you get her — you feel that you still need more and more, you’re never satisfied and always searching for more. That is the power and influence of fashion today. It symbolizes our need, our want for the next ‘it’ bag, ‘it’ dress and ‘it’ accessories.”

Eau Extreme 2010 Limited Edition scents 302010 by Inno Sotto in celebration of 30 years in the business

Muse is not Inno’s first foray into ready-to-wear. In 1989, on top of doing made-to-order, he put up his own label called Luxe Wear. Its premier collection consisted of day suits in viscose and light wool, cocktail coat dresses with beadwork, bomber-style moiré jackets with handmade satin appliqués and leopard print lining. He opened two stores: one in Makati, which lasted six years, and another in Singapore, which closed after two years. It was either the market was not ready for it, or Inno wasn’t ready to compromise his made-to-order aesthetic and adapt to non-couture materials and practices.

But perhaps the three years of being in the retail environment have prepared Manila’s premier designer for this second attempt at ready-to-wear? We will see tonight. Meanwhile, he gives us a preview. “The clothes for Muse are not too different from what I make for my clients,” says Inno who has, for the past three years, been moving around the Rustan’s department store as its creative director (its first). “But the clothes are more generalized,” the designer continues. “It has to address more women. It’s friendlier and easier. I took into consideration the fact that the women I am making these clothes for travel a lot, so I was conscious of the fact that they would want something that’s easy.” 

“The Muse represents the quintessential fashion of the moment,” says Inno.

The premier collection for Muse, says Inno, will consist of a lot of pure silk, satin, chiffons, lightweight jerseys and silk crepe fabrics. “The clothes are contemporary and luxurious pieces, inspired by East China and India.”

Tonight’s gala is being hosted by three women with whom Inno has had close associations at different moments in the last 30 years: Imelda Cojuangco, Lizzie Zobel and Rustan’s Zenaida Tantoco.

Apart from launching the Muse ladies wear apparel line, Inno, together with Rustan’s, is unveiling the 302010 special edition of eau de toilettes exclusive to Rustan’s. The numbers, of course, stand for the designer’s 30th year this year, 2010, and each scent bears the numbers 30, 20 and 10 as names.

The 30, or “Sleep” scent, evokes preservation and nostalgia, a retreat to vivid snapshots of the past, and our unflinching need to keep memories alive. The 20, or “Sunset” scent, is less romantic and more about expression and being in the moment, when the senses are their most alive and we feel an intense desire to cheat time. Finally, the 10, or “Sunrise” scent, speaks of the chance to do and undo things, of contemplating what has been done and pondering what can be done. “Sunrise,” according to Inno, is all about creation, a beginning of something.

To be in the business of fashion for 30 years is no small feat. But for an artist who creates fashion in the caliber of Inno Sotto, 30 years is more than a testament of longevity or staying power, 30 years means an enviably constant flux of inspiration that allows him to create, innovate, and keep the women who wears his clothes enraptured. “Thirty years means endurance, tenacity, wanting to leap from the ordinary” Sotto says. And then, echoing the theme of his collection, that never-ending summoning of the elusive muse, “It means to have constant growth and search more for what life has in store.”