Uptown girl

Designer Joel Escober, responsible for numerous red carpet dresses on the style pages of society mags, looks to the late Joe Salazar and Dennis Lustico “for his cerebral approach to modern but feminine design.”

Escober, a Joe Salazar awardee in 2003 at the Timeless Terno project by Bench and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, grew up surrounded by fashion. “I took fashion design at the Madonna Fashion School in Makati (where Lulu Tan-Gan, Noli Hans and Patis Tesoro studied), worked at MilkWear and Carolina’s then eventually took over my sister’s garment export business under my name that now caters to evening, bridalwear and specialty made-to-measure dresses.”

For his current collection, he was inspired by “a mix of what I have now.”

“And my embellishments are all done by hand — it’s all about interpreting them into wearable art,” he says. 

“Structure-wise, my silhouette is mainly classic but very feminine, updated with my aesthetic.”