LOYOLISTA

The first time I ever saw an Ignacio Loyola was in this short-lived store called Wench, hidden in the bargain enclave of Glorietta known as Red Lane. In this store you could find one-of-a-kind pieces from different up-and-coming designers, all with reasonable price tags. What caught my eye about a flaming red halter top with applique neckline wasn’t the color or its trapeze shape, but rather the fabric. It was made of cotton jersey – commonly known as your ordinary T-shirt fabric! 

Fast-forward to March 2004, my dear friend Celine asks me to guest style for YStyle where I would spearhead a shoot, pick a designer and showcase his or her creations. The name Ignacio Loyola comes to mind. For some reason, I couldn’t shake off the feel of that cotton-jersey fabric, like an all too familiar worn-out T-shirt you wear to sleep. I call him and he tells me that he needs about a week to come up with stuff, all the better I thought, wondering what the guy can come up with on short notice.

In walks Ignacio on the day of the shoot. For some reason, I had it in my head with a name like that, he would look like a Karl Lagerfeld type but here he was so casual and laid back in his asymmetrical haircut, jeans, T-shirt and sneakers. In a few minutes I would discover that this seventh child in a family of eight is a Leo, and looks up to Alexander McQueen, John Paul Gaultier, John Galiano and Viktor & Rolf (to name a few!). Currently designing the Boutique Line of Jag Jeans, it was through them that he was able to take a month-long Fashion Design Course at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy in the summer of 2002. The very same institute which produced other fashion notables like Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana. With the burst of color and the practicality of fabric, his creations are not only unique and traffic-stopping, but extremely comfortable to wear. The decision to use cotton jersey was a result of an assignment in school where the teacher wanted them to come up with an original way to use scrap. The no-frills stitching remind me so much of those projects in home economics and the unfinished hemlines and sleeves give you options on what to tie, untie and bunch up. With quirky names for each color – Bolt Blue, Tutu Pink, Life Jacket Orange, Sunny Yellow, Acid Red – he seemed to be on a roll by making these outfits reversible as well. In a world where everyone’s motto nowadays seems to be "fashion first before comfort," Ignacio Loyola’s creations are a sigh of relief and a breath of fresh air.

Ignacio’s five must-haves:

1) a corset

2) a tube top

3) denim jacket

4) bright-colored shoes

5) anything vintage