Chito de los Santos: It's a girl thing

Luis “Chito” de los Santos knows how to enhance the girly side of a woman.

Having started designing at the young age of 14, Chito entered a Fashion Designing and Dressmaking course at SLIM’s School of Fashion, where he even did illustrations for Salvacion “Slim” Lim-Higgins herself. Upon graduation, he went on to work as both house and assistant designer for several apparel houses. After working abroad, Chito finally settled in Manila in 2005 and pursued further studies in pattern-making at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. He also pursued hair and makeup lessons at David’s Salon Training Center thus encompassing many of the skills needed to embody multiple roles in the fashion industry.

Chito is a member of Fashion by the Wedding Designers of the Philippines (FWDP) and has participated in Philippine Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012.

This season, Chito says, “I am focused on the basic ‘shift’ form. This season’s collection envelopes an atmosphere of sequined sensuality, laced romanticism and sheer femininity. Shift dresses in burnt-out organza, chiffon and sequined fabrics complete the ‘shift’ silhouette in a variety of necklines. My clothes are decorated with fused fabric flowers and embellished with tulle-covered pearls, crystals, spangles and sugar beads diffusing the sparkle to glamorize every scene.”

Black chiffon one-shoulder shift dress over bronze sequined lining with accents such as pearls, beads and flowerettes.

Chito continues, “I would like to enhance a woman’s femininity by the use of soft fabrics that accentuate a woman’s curves in a very subtle way. There is a bit of a throwback to the 1920s and the Jazz era in many of my clothes without having to adopt the drop-waist Flapper look. It is very easy to overdo the use of embellishments so I try to pare them down a bit and put them in strategic locations as opposed to spreading them throughout the entire outfit. As a whole, the idea of elegance and glamour appeals to me and if I can achieve clothes that exude this while at the same time magnifying my clients’ femininity, then I think I would have done a good job!”