The name Ramon Valera brings memories not only of a remarkable man, but also of an era straight out of a best-selling novel’s pages as well.
It was an era of beautiful women and powerful men. The glitterati and glamourati traipsing in a dizzling whirl of balls and rigodons and carnivals. High society. Romance. Intrigue. Glamour.
From the ’30s up until his death in 1972, Valera dazzled Manila’s 400 with his boundless energy, his highly original designs, his passion for fashion. Valera was society’s darling, the high priest of local fashion, the dean of Filipino designers.
He was the designer who scandalized our grandmothers in the ’30s by innovating the traditional baro’t saya and actually revolutionizing our national dress. When he removed the panuelo – a folded kerchief – leaving the bodice bare, he elicited oohs and aahs from a conservative public. When he transformed the baro’t saya from a traditional two-piecer to a single gown, he simply shocked Manila. Since then, he never ceased to dictate local fashion.
The elder of two sons of Don Melecio and Doña Pilar Valera, Ramon looked up to his mother as the greatest influence on his decision to become a designer. She made exquisite beadwork and embroidery, which fascinated the young Ramon no doubt. Although he had no formal training in fashion design, Valera on his own learned the ropes of the trade from experience. And this experience made fashion history.
Much has been written about Valera, but little is known about the Valera women, his select clients from Manila’s high society.
From their various recollections, two distinct images of Valera stand out. The first is that of the designer who made local fashion history with such unforgettable couture pageantry as Madame Imelda Marcos’ first inaugural terno in 1966, Susan Magalona’s wedding gown when she became Mrs. Oscar Ledesma, Pitang Eusebio’s fantastic Mancomunidad ternos, Gloria Romero’s resplendent gown when she was proclaimed Miss Visayas. The latter was Valera’s favorite among showbiz luminaries, and once, he even sprayed her hair gold during a fashion show.
On the other hand, images of Valera the man prove to be just as colorful and fascinating as his designs. His perfectionist attitude towards his work, his selective attitude towards his clientele, his love for the good life are now legend. Valera’s parties made great copy for society columns, as did his much-talked-about "feuds." Practically no one was spared his ire when provoked. When Chona Recto Kasten, one of his favorite models, refused to wear a stole in a gown she was to wear at a fashion show, he casually informed her this would be the last time she would model for him.
As Pitang Eusebio recalls how Valera always kept her in suspense regarding the design of her gown; Elvira Manahan laughingly recalls the Valera gown she never wore; Fe Dolor-Serrano goes over her Valera gowns which are still intact and Conchitina Sevilla-Bernardo reminisces about her backstage jitters during her first modelling stint, one can only pause and sigh. No, there will never be another Valera.
After his funeral, there were many women clients and friends who mourned his death. Seeing thus, an old guard in Philippine fashion commented thus: "Some fashion designers should even feel sadder. Now that Valera is dead, they will have no one to copy."
Dubbed the suprema of fashion in Pampanga society during the halcyon days of the glittering Mancomunidad Pampangueña balls in the ’50s and ’60s, Pitang Eusebio was easily one of Valera’s favorite clients.
Shortly before the Mancomunidad balls (these were held in either February or March), word would quickly spread among the participating socialites that Valera would not be accepting any more orders.
"You better see him soon, Pitang," they would warn her. "Otherwise, he may not be able to accommodate you."
What the others didn’t know was that Valera always made an exception when it came to Pitang. He would not only find time to accommodate her, but also to create a terno that mesmerized Manila’s creme de la creme.
Svelte, sophisticated, and equipped with a fascinating flair for fashion, Pitang inspired Valera to create many of the exquisite ternos that only helped confirm his being numero uno.
"He loved to innovate and experiment with the ternos and gowns he designed for me," she recalls. "These would spearhead many of his creative ideas, and when these experiments would prove to be successful, he would make similar outfits for his other clients. But – always a gentleman – he would ask my permission first."
Pitang’s first Valera terno was a Grecian-inspired number she wore to a Mancomunidad ball shortly after liberation. She looks back: "It was in fuchsia, with a short skirt inside. Fully beaded, it also had a drape. One sleeve was white; the other fuchsia."
Since that time – until his death – the Valera-Eusebio partnership continued to dazzle Manila’s 400. Once, he made her a terno with the unlikely color combination of eggplant and aqua – which nevertheless turned out to be a stunner. Then, there was the time he fashioned a yellow sari-inspired terno, which "was very difficult to wear because it was made from a single fabric from India, and it even had a hood. It had beads shaped like fingernails."
Other memorable Valera creations in Pitang’s wardrobe include a bubble skirted terno, a fully beaded number with eight kilos of beads, and a patadyong in white and fuchsia that "was so fully hand- beaded that you couldn’t see the fabric anymore."
Valera, Pitang remembers, would always hold her breathless in suspense concerning the design of her gown or terno. "When I would come in for a fitting, I would just be asked to try on the lining," she laughs. "It would just be like trying on one’s wedding gown many times over. He would refuse to show me the gown or terno he designed for me until I was just about to wear it. He believed that letting me see my outfit two or three days earlier would diminish its magical impact on me."
She continues, "I always let him handle everything – from the designing to the selection of fabric – everything. I would not have had it any other way. Valera usually based his designs on his client’s personality which he took pains in studying. He would always design sweet gowns, for example, for those he deemed so like President Roxas’ daughter Ruby. But for me, he always made innovative and sophisticated designs."
A consummate artist, Valera gave his clients only the best. "He would import his beads from Paris," she recalls, "and what a difference these made! A patadyong I mentioned earlier still has the beadwork intact. And these beads don’t blacken or tarnish like those from Hong Kong or Taiwan!"
Residing quite closely to each other in Quezon City only served to enhance this already vital designer-client relationship. In fact, Pitang fabulously making a grand entrance in a Valera terno was a grand ritual in the annual Mancomunidad scenario.
"The only time I did not wear a Valera to a major social affair was during the 40th wedding anniversary of the Eugenio Lopezes," she says. "That was because he was abroad that time, so I asked Slim’s (who was Valera’s close rival in fashion) to design for me instead. She did a splendid job!"
To date, Pitang’s some 30 (for Mancomunidad) and six (for weddings as sponsor) ternos from Valera are still good as new. And apparently, these fabulous designs are still very vivid in the minds of a fashion-conscious public.
After Valera passed away, Pitang was requested to lend some of the gowns she owned to a fashion show. Pitang was pleasantly surprised when some young designers asked her why she did not include certain gowns, which they described in detail.
Almost in disbelief, she sighed, "How nice! I didn’t think they’d remember them all!"
Even then, the precocious child must have so charmed Valera that when she became a schoolmate of a niece of his, he would insist that she be invited for lunch regularly at their home.
"I practically grew up with him," says the irrepressible Elvira.
And with her candor, effervescence, and joie de vivre, it’s not surprising that Elvira grew up not only to be his favorite client, but one of his favorite people as well.
He would chide her for – of all things – being too conservative. "That doesn’t sound like me, does it?" she chuckles. "But believe it or not, at that time I always thought I was the sweet type. When I say conservative, I mean being on the safe side. I really wasn’t that willing to try on new things."
For example, then "I was adverse to wearing spaghetti straps and costume jewelry, which simply wasn’t done then (we always wore the real thing), and I thought it was simply outre! Things have certainly changed since then!"
Elvira, on the other hand, would tease him about his tendency towards "suffering exquisitely."
"He was such a super sensitive person," she recalls. "Unpleasant hearsay about him or his designs would depress him. I used to cajole him not to be too hyper!"
Also, "he was a perfectionist with his work. When he wasn’t satisfied with something he made, he would change the whole thing completely. I used to have the jitters when he would have to repeat a terno or gown I needed quite badly. But, always the professional, he would have it delivered to me on time."
As one of his favorite "models," it was not surprising that Elvira requested him to design her wedding gown when she married the late Armando Eduque. Elvira describes what she calls "my first wedding gown" as a terno of body-fitting white jersey. It was slinky, with the beadwork extending to the sleeves and the whole length of the gown.
Valera also made Elvira’s second wedding gown, which she wore when she married Dr. Constantino Manahan. This was shorter and less formal that the first.
Among Elvira’s favorite Valera originals is a leopard printed gown intricately beaded in the same color and design. Very feline-looking, it is slinky, figure-hugging, and so heavily beaded that none of the original fabric can be discerned. Highlighting this gold and black outfit is a huge blue cape.
She recalls: "The beadwork made the gown so heavy that when I took it off, the straps left marks on my shoulders. But it was worth all the inconvenience!"
Two rather funny incidents involving Valera stand out in Elvira’s memory.
The first involved a "late merienda which he co-hosted at the home of Luis Araneta (his best friend). Ramoning was supposed to bring the lugao (he was a splendid cook as well), and shortly after he arrived, he and Luis started arguing about how the lugao was to be presented. You can imagine how ridiculous the whole thing was! Here they were – two sophisticated and cosmopolitan men arguing about – of all things – something as trivial as the presentation of the lugao! Apparently, the quarrel didn’t end there, and before I knew it, they were not on speaking terms. Later on, I had to patch things up between them."
Then, there was the time when "somebody wanted to give me a Valera gown as a gift. Ramoning didn’t exactly like the person, but nevertheless agreed to do it because of me. The gown he made was something out of this world! It was existentialist, surrealistic! I have never worn that Valera gown!"
And when Mrs. Serrano recalls Valera, she always speaks in superlatives: "He was a respectable man, a real gentleman. He dictated fashion and innovated it."
Moreover, "he was self-sufficient, and therefore not fully dependent on those working for him. He could design, cut, sew, and even do the beadwork. The thought of his modistas leaving did not exactly give him nightmares. If worse came to worst, he could fashion a client’s gown or terno by himself."
Valera also carefully selected his clients, with neither wealth nor pedigree as a guarantee of being in his exclusive circle. One was either in or out. It was as simple as that.
"But," Mrs. Serrano observes, "we were all satisfied clients. In fact, the gowns he made for me 20 years ago are still intact. That was because he was very meticulous about his work. The beadwork in my gowns have neither discolored nor fallen off."
Although he designed quite a number of gowns and ternos for Mrs. Serrano, one of her favorites was the one she wore to the Malacañang reception of then Vietnamese strongman Nguyen Cao Ky and his beautiful wife Mai. It was an aqua blue number intricately beaded with a paisley design all over. This beautiful piece of handiwork did not escape the discriminating eye of the US Ambassador’s wife – Deeda Blair – then herself a fashion heavyweight, having been proclaimed one of the world’s Ten Best Dressed Women. Mrs. Blair herself owned some Valera originals, which she not only wore here, but to receptions in other world capitols as well.
"So respected was Valera, my brother Danny says that even the cockroaches respected Valera’s creations. All these 20 years, they never touched his creations."
Like Elvira Manahan, Conchitina Sevilla-Bernardo knew Valera from childhood. Her father, Dr. Carlos Sevilla, was Valera’s personal doctor; her mother, Lina O. Sevilla, was a leading society columnist and a close friend of Valera. It was not surprising that Conchitina considered "Tito Ramoning" a close family friend.
He was, in fact, the one who gave Conchitina her first modelling break when he asked her to participate in the Oka-Valera show in the ’60s.
For her modelling debut, Conchitina – then only 15 – wore – as a sub-debutante – a "beautiful lace gown which I have stashed away for posterity. This eventually became my prom gown, and was the same one I wore on my first magazine cover, for Luisa Linsangan’s Women’s magazine."
Valera was, Conchitina recalls, "very nervous before the show. He kept going in and out of the room. Before I went on stage, he must have come up to fix me at least 10 times to make sure that everything was alright. At first, seeing him so tense bothered me. Later on, I would realize he was simply being a perfectionist, paying meticulous attention to details up to the last sequence."
Equally nervous during her modelling debut, Conchitina asked her mother why Valera was acting in such a strange manner. The jitters, Conchitina would later discover, were part and parcel of his extreme passion for his work.
Conchitina also modeled for Valera during a garden show held at the home of the designer’s good friend, Luis Araneta. By this time, she had grown up somewhat, for she was now dressed as a debutante in flowing chiffon with flowers.
Having been quite young then, Conchitina remembers that Valera "always treated me like a little girl." Little did he envision that the wisp of a girl he dressed up as a sub-debutante in her first fashion show would grow up to become one of the country’s top models in the ’60s and later establish the Karilagan Finishing School. Had he done so, he would have been visibly proud.
She was the consummate Movie Queen – beautiful, sophisticated, regal. He was the local King of Fashion – ultra-talented, innovative, flamboyant. Off and on screen, the Ramon Valera-Gloria Romero partnership sparked off creative fireworks in the ’50s and ’60s.
As a protege of Dr. Jose Perez of Sampaguita Pictures, it was not surprising that Gloria’s path would cross with that of Valera, who was a good friend of Perez. Their first joint venture was the ball in which she was proclaimed Miss Visayas.
"Valera made for me a red and white terno with a sweeping train and exquisite beadwork," Gloria recalls. "I remember that he even made a crown to match it. It was like that with Valera – he made everything, from your gown to your shoes to your gloves, all the other accessories. He would also supervise everything, from one’s hairdo to one’s makeup. In fact, all I had to do was to wear the gown he prepared for me."
Gloria describes Valera as a "rather quiet man." He was, she says, not one to be too vocal about his feelings. Yet, during his shows, he would be there shouting, "Bravo! Bravo!," which was his own way of saying to his models that they had done a fine job.
She continues: "During that time, socialites modelled for fashion shows. Actresses were never asked, not because we were looked down on, but simply because it never occurred to others to ask us. It took a Valera to add society glamour to our movie star stature." Other film stars who were honored to model for Valera included film legends Amalia Fuentes, Susan Roces, and Barbara Perez.
Like Pitang Eusebio, Gloria also recalls that Valera would always hold her in suspense regarding the design of her gowns. "I would be so excited and jittery about what I was to wear, and there he was, cool as a cucumber."
Whether on the screen, on the ramp, or in fashionable affairs, the Valera-Romero partnership was pure star quality. Once, the duo left the audience breathless when he sprayed Gloria’s hair gold. This set off the drama of the stark black gown he designed for her in a fashion show.
They likewise razzle-dazzled the screen, especially the dream sequences that were a staple of films then. Gloria may have forgotten the name of the picture, but she nevertheless vividly remembers wearing a fully beaded gold outfit while dancing to the tune of Beguine the Beguine in that movie. Valera also designed many of Gloria’s off-screen clothes, including her wedding gown when she married Juancho Gutierrez. The latter was, she recalls, "a cross between a Maria Clara and a terno."
The last Valera-Romero merger was, significantly, the film Pinagbuklod ng Langit, where Gloria played the role of the First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. The film was every actress’ fashion fantasy, for here, Valera duplicated the ternos and gowns he designed for the First Lady.