'Design hothouse' opens in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - Dr. Janet Emmanuel, Raffles Design Institute Manila’s academic director for fashion design, leafs through what at first looks like a glossy fashion magazine, pointing out the dresses that impress her the most. “I particularly loved this piece, it’s so gorgeous,” she shares, referring to a structured yet ethereal-looking gown in some indeterminate nude color. “Made by a diploma student,” she continues. “The back of this dress was really low, and the whole collection was just beautiful, something that I aspire to. It was a young Chinese lady who did it. Absolutely stunning, a lovely, lovely collection that was well-done.”

The magazine is actually a portfolio of sorts of the Raffles fashion design students who showcased their collections in a recent fashion show in Singapore. Polished, well-constructed and meticulously styled, the pieces featured in the portfolio look nothing like the typical self-indulgent expression characteristic of amateur student work. Rather, they would fit right in in an editorial of any high profile fashion magazine.

That level of professional and well-directed creativity is also possible for aspiring Filipino designers, as Raffles Education Corporation begins the first term of its first school year this month in its Manila campus. Now with 39 colleges in 36 cities across 15 countries, REC is the largest private tertiary education group in the Asia Pacific, expanding especially aggressively in the recent years since its establishment in Singapore in 1990 by its chairman and CEO Chew Hua Seng. In the process, it has also become the institution that sets the standard for design education in the region.

While the Philippines doesn’t lack in international schools and design schools, Raffles Design Institute Manila brings something new to the table. Aside from the essential technical and business knowledge and skills that its programs will impart to its students, RDIM also has a team of international instructors who will infuse local cultural identity and creativity with a more global perspective. Lecturer for fashion marketing and management Nela San Jose, who is Filipino and has studied at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California, attests, “As someone who had studied abroad and came back to work in the Philippines, I can say that the exposure to cultural and design differences helps a lot in becoming a creative and well-rounded professional, one who is ready to enter and work in the design industry. With Raffles coming to the Philippines, Filipino students get the chance to experience an international-caliber education without having to leave the country.”

By design: RDIM infuses local culture and identity with a global perspective.

Fast-tracked, dynamic and planned in synergy with the programs in all of the other Raffles campuses, the RDIM program allows students to earn an internationally recognized Bachelor of Design degree within three years. Each year has four admission periods or “intakes” — January, April, July and October — that provides students the luxury of starting their studies at the most convenient period for them. Conversely, this means that they can also get to put their learning in the professional scene depending on when they began their studies. They also have the option of transferring to any of the other Raffles campuses in the region. RDIM Director Darion Lim says, “Our academic calendar is executed the same way in all our campuses so a student can transfer seamlessly, with no lost credits or need for catch-up lessons.”

San Jose describes the education offered by RDIM as “intuitive. While the courses are fast-paced the instructors, also understand the necessity of time to develop and work on ideas to bring them to completion.” Of course, just like in a traditional school, the institute requires diligence and long hours of work from its students. “It is just like a job,” Emmanuel admits. “We expect them to be like professionals the moment they come in through our doors.” At the same time, students will also get the chance to meet new people and learn of new design concepts as they hone their skills. “They will emerge from their courses as capable design ambassadors and brand leaders,” Emmanuel says. The lack of design background is not a deterrent for applicants; only a keen interest is needed.

The RDIM campus has a total area of 1,500 square meters. It has 11 lecture rooms, two studios for fashion design and interior design drawing, a student lounge, a library and two computer labs, one for PCs and one for Macs. “This is our temporary home, so to speak,” Lim admits. “It can accommodate up to 300 students. When we get a bigger number of students, we will relocate, but for the soft launch, this campus will suffice.” While the usual student-to-teacher ratio in the other established Raffles campuses is 20 to 1, the current staff ratio at RDIM is four to six. “That’s unheard of,” Emmanuel says with a laugh. “But the students who enroll at the beginning are very lucky because they get more of our time and attention. As we expand, though, we are sure that no student will get short-changed.”

RDIM’s roster of lecturers: Buz Walker for visual communication, Dr. Janet Emmanuel for fashion design, Lee Miles for interior design and Nela San Jose for fashion marketing and management.

Tuition and miscellaneous fees are at P396,000 a year, for a total of P792,000 for a full-term two-year course, inclusive of graduation fees—half of the standard Raffles rate. “It will be money well-spent, as we provide the students not just academic and creative training but the business education as well of the program they are studying,” says Lim. “That would be especially useful for the young entrepreneurs who wish to start their own lines or labels.” While other colleges might combine two design disciplines into one program, RDIM focuses on each one with a syllabus planned meticulously to incorporate all the creative and business aspects that can be taught for the course. “We want to prepare the students for the way the real design industry operates, not just in the Philippines but internationally,” Lim explains.

“Basically, we envision RDIM to be a design hothouse,” says Emmanuel. “It’s where we grow new talents for the next generation: free-thinkers with a profound understanding of their chosen craft.”

The disciplines currently offered by RDIM are Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing and Management, Visual Communication (Graphic Design) and Interior Design.

Sketch, sew, and more

“With this course, we look to integrate fashion with the music, media and dance scenes, avenues that are linked to fashion but are as yet generally untapped,” Emmanuel says. With her long history in various top design schools in the United Kingdom, Emmanuel hopes to broaden the young design aspirants’ view of the fashion industry and to simulate a working environment even inside the classroom walls. “As they enter a multi-billion-dollar global industry, we want the students to go into any market level, whether mass or luxe, and become not just competent designers but the very best.”

Even those who have zero background in sketching or sewing are encouraged to enroll, as RDIM’s fashion design program also covers the fundamentals of the discipline, from pattern-making, cutting and drafting. Aside from the classroom sessions that will impart design and construction techniques, fashion design students will also be taken on tours of different galleries and fashion shows in Singapore and HongKong, “and if possible, even beyond that, to the major design centers of the world such as Paris and London,” Emmanuel adds. Students will also have the chance to touch base with designers, fashion editors and other movers in the industry to be exposed to the different aspects of fashion design. From learning design concepts and proc esses to the final production of pieces for the global market place, students will be equipped on both the creative and the technical proficiency sides that are demanded of professionals in the industry; fashion design, illustration and merchandising are not the only possible career paths open to them but fashion journalism, trend forecasting and consultancy as well, among many others.

To localize the course’s global perspective, students will also be taught how to capitalize on local fabrics, embroidery and weaving aside from the mainstream textiles. At the end of the course, a succinct and creative collection will be expected from the students. In this area, Emmanuel is optimistic that RDIM’s first batch of fashion design diploma students will also be able to stage a presentation similar to the one done by the Raffles Singapore students. “Aside from honing their creativity and developing their technical skills, we also want them to be able to understand and edit their work, which is important in any discipline.” Referring to the Raffles Singapore students’ portfolio, she says, “It’s good that we see the standard that we have to achieve and maybe even surpass. Hopefully, we’ll have our own in two, three years’ time, with little things in between.”

Building a brand

San Jose’s main focus with the Fashion Marketing and Management course is to expose students to countless career opportunities within the fashion industry. “It’s for those who are interested to work in the field but are not really into drawing or dress-making,” she explains. “With this course, they can learn how to become brand managers or visual merchandisers. There are programs in fashion advertising, and students will learn what the work of a fashion editor entails, of a stylist, of an events planner...all of these things.” Fashion knowledge is integrated with business, marketing and contextual studies: students will be taught on buying and merchandising practices as well as conceptualizing and developing effective brand management strategies to execute advertising and promotional activities. San Jose says, “The course is a great way for students to prepare themselves to work in the industry, as it touches on all the other aspects of fashion outside of design. It’s also a way for them to discover what they would really like to do professionally, as we put a premium on learning and practicing all the different facets first before specializing on an area.”

Creating space

Interior design is easily imagined as interiors for commercial, industrial, and residential purposes. RDIM’s Interior Design course goes beyond that, however. “What we offer here is more on interior architecture, how to process or imagine any built environment. The students will be equipped with practical skills to communicate their ideas,” says lecturer Lee Miles. With his work background spanning different countries in Europe and Asia, Miles puts emphasis on helping students develop a local sense of their own projects. He says, “It’s important to look back and use as a reference the local culture in any design that a student does. Otherwise, new developments and design projects are going to look the same as what is seen overseas, and that makes no sense. You can’t ignore the cultural background, and a level of history and heritage is very important in design.”

The Interior Design course has modules designed to develop skill sets such as CAD and 3D modeling, and planning is a very strong component. The course also has a technical side, where students will learn of design theories and how the industry works in creating environments. They will be given design studio projects where they can envision and produce a design that will respond to a site or location in Asia or anywhere in the world. Miles says, “The course is industry-focused; we want the students to be able to apply the skills they’ve learned to other areas besides interior design and to be able to link interior design with architecture and even urban and landscape design.”

A quick draw

Buz Walker describes the Visual Communication course as “a foundation type of course where students will be given exercises that will help them think as designers in terms of using the basic principles of design, such as lines, shapes, forms and colors.” Drawing is a very important aspect of the program, as it is with the other programs. Within the first few semesters of the Visual Communication course, students will focus more on the traditional skill sets that are the bases of graphic design. “It’s about getting them to become more comfortable with the basics first before easing into using digital technology,” Walker explains. With the classes project-oriented, the program aims to produce students that are ready to start working in design studios or advertising agencies, and perhaps even to set up their own studios. “We’ll do a couple of major products as well as lots of in-class exercises to get and keep the students’ minds going,” says Walker. “Later on, as they get into the upper levels, there will be more major projects, perhaps one with the initial idea development and research stage stretched throughout the first semester, and the actual physical creation of their designs done in the second semester.”

As the local graphic design scene is very much thriving, Walker aims to strike a balance between cultural influences and a more international slant in the course. “I have met some of the Filipino art groups outside of the school and that has helped me see even more strongly how, especially on the Fine Arts side, there a lot of amazing talent here,” he says. “I also see it in illustration, which comes in at what we do in the program. There are really good book illustrators, children’s book illustrators in the country.” Walker plans to network with local illustration groups and organizations to get a better feel of how to integrate global and Filipino perspectives and styles and to impart that balance to the RDIM students. “Definitely, there should be a mix between international design and local identity in any design project,” he concludes.

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Raffles Design Institute Manila is located at Units 1801-1900 Accralaw Tower, 2ndAvenue corner 30thStreet, Crescent Park West, Bonifacio Global City. It is currently accepting enrollees for its July 2011 intake. For information on RDIM and its program offerings, visit http://www.raffles-design-institute.com.ph or contact RDIM at 846-2888 and rdi-manila2raffles-design-institute.com.