Some like it haute
MANILA, Philippines - Before Gelai’s designs were pitted against her not-so-long-lost sister’s House of Ronaldo — thus completing the triumvirate that would go head to head to become Magkaribal’s queen bee — her sewing hands received their first break: cooking up sartorial concoctions for Vera Couture. She’d shed one too many tears trying to please the perpetually screaming Vera, in the company of pins, needles and copious amounts of questionably colored beads and trimmings — that, while she consciously ignored Enchong Dee’s affections, and took much hate from the two design associates that portrayed Bea Alonzo’s evil stepsisters. In Magkaribal, fashion is both the star and hamartia — perpetuating glorious victory, and an even grander failure, at the same time.
For Gelai, and for the rest of the world, fashion can very well be a real-life soap opera. If you’d like to take a shot at thriving within its Darwinian walls and masses of unused fabric without ending up in a figurative (albeit chic) straitjacket, we’ve all got to start somewhere — and whether it’s in fictional teleseryes or in real life, the School of Fashion and the Arts rightfully bags that place in our country.
SoFA has not only housed Jojie Lloren’s local rendition of “make it work” while he mentored aspiring designers for Project Runway Philippines, it has also been home to designers hailed by major fashion magazines like Preview and Mega. Reality shows and its chamber of crushed dreams, tulle and taffeta aside, Amina Alunan-Aranaz, co-founder of SoFA, says local fashion isn’t there just yet. “The industry has not yet reached its peak,” she says, “but it is growing and people are paying attention very fast.”
Gonna be startin’ something new
Their focus now is to professionalize the creative industry in order to be able to perform better on a global platform. “We want to create a Filipino stamp of style and design which we can showcase to the world,” Amina says. They take craftsmanship to a whole new level as they unveil the School of Interior Design, which boasts a new set of workshops called “Personal Series,” catered to hobbyists, housewives, and anyone who wishes to try their hand at home design.
From being able to create something beyond kitschy magazine collages in Visual Editing by Ivy Almario, to lessons in hospitality in Entertaining in Style by creative director for the Discovery chain of hotels Ferdi Salvador, to instructions on interiors in Furniture Styles, by Metro Home magazine’s associate editor Barbie Pardo-Tiangco, SoFA brings improving your home from the sidelines to the front, knowing that it is as much of a personal expression as it is with clothes or makeup. More advanced and practical workshops also include Design Presentation in 3D by Carla Leonor, Renovating on a Budget by Tristan Jovellana, former host of TV show House Life, and Staging Your Home For Sale by Condo Living and My Home magazines contributor John Basbas.
SoFA will also soon be offering fashion photography workshops, internships and job opportunities at Rajo Laurel, and fashion journalism classes to be taught by former Preview staffer and The Philippine STAR’s very own, Ana Kalaw.
“Filipinos are extremely talented and creative,” Amina says, “so we must take the education and development of our craft very seriously.” SoFA has managed to cause a positive change in the industry, and cultivated discourse in fashion. Now, they’re looking into more specialized programs, as well as setting their sights on a bigger and better campus.
It’s one thing to decide to join the breeding ground of designer hopefuls, models, and stylists — you have to prove your mettle, still, and making it is another thing. “We believe only the truly deserving and hardworking should be able to put their creations on show,” Amina says. “Easy fame is fleeting, which we don’t like to encourage.”
Fashion may have its fair share of tumultuous drama, but is it any wonder that some stand their ground in five-inch heels? That’s right. Nothing feels as good as triumph in such a fickle, and sometimes ruthless, industry. Just ask Gelai Agustin.
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For more information, visit sofamanila.com.
