Not what it seams

His big break came in the form of a shiny yellow patent dress early this year. Judy Ann Santos, garbed in a figure-hugging frock, on Preview’s cover opened doors for 20-year-old designer Janno Farrales. “I wouldn’t consider it a break,” he remarks, “rather an opportunity.” Potatoe, potato, as we say in the fashion business.

Farrales recently graduated from Slim’s, but his love affair with fashion began at a much younger age. At the age of 13, he began tuning out during classroom lectures, doodling clothing instead on the back of his notebook. “I used to starve just so I could buy fashion magazines,” he adds.

Though his dream list of future clients reads as eclectic (Zooey Deschanel, Mary Kate Olsen, Anna Piaggi, anyone?), he’s managed to find a consistent style that he’s used as a reference for his latest pieces. While his earlier work has a geometric, body-conscious feel to it, his current collection is, according to Farrales, inspired by “romance and everything light.” Which means frothy dresses in subtle gray satin, charming shift dresses with dainty pleated hems, and playful minis. “My design is all about surrealism — it’s ethereal and breezy. There is lightness to the fabric choices. Think of them as dresses you’d wear during lazy days...”

“Lately I’ve been into light, casual but pretty clothes,” Farrales remarks, “like tribal printed dresses, brocade boleros and shorts and dresses with some hints of brocade.” But he hasn’t turned his back on the material that garnered him a cover. “Yes, I still use patent,” he says with a long-suffering sigh turned laugh. But he’s managed to turn the material into something new. While past forays include coats and dresses made entirely in patent, he’s combined the shiny, hard-edged material with sweet satin — which makes for an interesting mix. The young designer’s creation straddles classic and hip in one easy leap, making the dress (which currently happens to be on the cover) one of his more promising looks.

“My style is more crisp and minimal. More adventurous in terms of fabric choices,” Farrales concludes. “When it comes down to it, I’m a less-is-more kind of guy.”

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Janno Farrales’s one-off pieces are available at Backstage Boutique at 2/F Serendra. For more information, e-mail the designer at jannofarrales0009@yahoo.com.

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