This, despite an incident when his parked car started rolling downhill, and he – all five-foot-three of him – tried to stop the car with his bare hands, and in the process, got his ankle-length skirt caught beneath his foot and was left standing on the street starkers from the waist down. This, despite another incident when a security guard at a posh mall stopped him from entering, saying that no beggars and vagrants were allowed inside. This, despite yet another event when a cab driver wondered out loud which indigenous tribe he was from.
All because he was wearing his trademark skirts.
But wear, make and style skirts – and shirts and dresses and trousers and what-not – Puey doggedly does, since – there is little else he does better. Nothing will stop this individual from doing what he does, because, well, that’s what real individuals do.
It’s a matter of principle. Or, in this case, 11 principles. They are what you would call "The Eleven Tenets" that Puey the designer, stylist, artist, horticulturist, and yes, individual lives by.
And these are what makes him one of the most promising young individuals in the fashion scene today.
1) Designing and styling go hand in hand.
Before, a designer advised me not to combine styling and designing because it might confuse me. But I think otherwise. When I design a garment, I already think about how it will turn out without a single accessory, without makeup; even if I just put it on a hanger on a wall, without a model, I want it to stand out – that’s the stylist in me. On the other hand, being a designer helps me in my styling because my creativity broadens. I have more ideas.
2) Nature gives you a sense of balance.
I’m totally promdi, so I grew up very close to nature. Nature inspires me in a very different way. I come from the same hometown as Dennis Lustico – Bobon, in-typhoon-prone Northern Samar. Everything was peaceful, and there you could see the balance of nature – the mountains behind the fields and the sea behind the mountain. My mother is a schoolteacher, my father a policeman and they wanted me to be a lawyer, so I took up Political Science at the University of Eastern Philippines. In third year college, I became aware that I really wanted to be a designer because of Dennis Lustico, who molded me, mentored me, disciplined me. Everytime I go back to my hometown, everytime I get away from the city where it’s all buildings and concrete, I’m reminded of those days when I just sketched and designed for fun. And that’s a good thing.
3) It’s the concept that will sell the clothes, not the other way around.
Some are afraid of high concept photo shoots because they think that the buyers have to "relate." This is translated as showing off the product in a very obvious and literal sense. In Europe, no matter how beautiful the dress, they’re not afraid to just show one detail; yet, you see the beauty of the entire garment, because the photography and styling are good. See, it’s the entire composition that is important. If the concept is whole, then that will sell the fashion, and bring out the best in the clothes.
4) Chicken or egg? Always the chicken!
I don’t think it’s the reader or the buyer who isn’t ready for changes in fashion and layout. I think it’s the seller who should be ready. They should be the originators. It’s up to them to educate the reader by presenting something new and interesting each time. I was one of the stylists for the Bench underwear show this year, and people like Ben Chan inspire us because he’s always pushing the envelope. He has taken responsibility in educating the buying public.
5) The future is now.
I try to be a visionary with my styling and designing. When I style, I guess it can’t be understood right now, but later on, when they see my work again and again, they’ll eventually understand it. It’s my way of raising the expectations and the standards of the fashion industry.
6) Have faith!
When it comes to styling and designing, just believe in yourself. Be daring. Be bold. I don’t care what other people think, because this is what I want to do. This is my taste, my preference. And that’s translated to everything I do.
7) Keep it simple.
If I could give advice on styling I would give her this exercise:
Here’s a handkerchief, here’s’a model, here’s a photographer; now style! Don’t put too much accessories and stop doing all this layering! Don’t enjoy the pull-out process too much! Even if it’s just a handkerchief that you paste on the model, if you know how to balance the model, the product and the photography, it can turn out to be beautiful.
8) Imitation is not always flattering.
When you copy the looks and images from the cutting-edge foreign magazines like Visionaire and WestEast, and then lift them directly and apply them in the Philippines they will definitely look hilaw. Our models are different, the light hits their skin differently; the aura of the Filipina is different, so our concept of sexy is almost opposite to that of the Caucasian. Most of all, our features are different, so we shouldn’t apply the same makeup! So it’s good to read a lot, but DON’T COPY!
9) Be consistent.
Fashion in Manila seems to be concentrated on cocktail dresses and weddings. My target market is not just those who go to cocktail parties and high profile events. If you’re traveling, or going to the mall, or just lounging around at home, you can be fashionable. You have to be consistent. I hope that the niche I’m looking for is in maintaining that consistency.
10) Time for daytime.
I want to create a daytime collection. The look is street: T-shirts with an interesting cut or shape, jackets in light wool or linen, tweeds and cotton twill, jerseys. My color palette would mainly be neutral. The people wearing my clothes are like Jo Ann Bitagcol, who doesn’t wear tube tops or miniskirts or tight-fitting dresses, yet you can still see her sexiness. She doesn’t want to look glamorous or fabulous – she wants to look INTERESTING. It makes her mysterious and makes you want to get to know her. She’s not literal with fashion.
11) Always thank the masters.
I’m only 24 years old, yet I’m so grateful that I’m taken care of by people I only used to admire from a distance: Dennis Lustico, Lulu Tan Gan, Patrice Ramos Diaz, Yvonne Quisumbing, and Ben Chan. Someday, maybe I’ll be able to personally thank the other designers whom I’ve idolized ever since: Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf!