Soft touch

When the first model took to the steps of the Shangri-La lobby, it was clear designer Cary Santiago was up to his old tricks. Flowing gowns in chocolate and taupe jersey brought to mind Halston, while numerous draping techniques immediately recalled Grecian goddess gowns.

The Cebuano designer, who cut his teeth designing for the fashionable folks in Beirut for the past 10 years, channels Homer’s Odyssey for this collection, claiming that the warrior goddesses Athena and Penelope were his inspiration.

Throughout the collection, Santiago sought a balance between two silhouettes: body-skimming and loose. “I’ve always been fond of extremes,” he explains after the show. He’s proven it with light-as-air diaphanous gowns and slick, body-conscious shapes. Embellishment came in the form of Santiago’s numerous signature styles. Macramé details served as a focal point for the collection, drawing the eye to the fabric-covered cutouts placed strategically over the hip, shoulder and in more risqué frocks, directly over the crotch.

With his clear understanding of drama, he dispatched a few dresses slashed in the hips, revealing a slice of flesh by the pubic bone. In real life, he says, the revealing portions would be covered with the same colored fabric. But that didn’t stop the designer from channeling his inner bombshell with dress after dress seemingly modeled after Amazon heroines with barely-there frocks slashed to the waist, the fabric molded to the model’s breasts.

Playing with shapes — and celebrating the female form — was a popular theme in this show.

He returned to his laser-cut roots, transforming simple nude floor-length dresses into sensational gowns that drew applause from the hotel’s well-heeled crowd. A nude stunner, a floor-skimming shift in Santiago’s signature scalloped tiers with lasercut embellishment, was one fine example.

Included in the mix were a few playful knee-length cocktail dresses that wouldn’t look out of place on someone young and ready to party. One thing about Santiago: his dresses are not for wallflowers. Statement-making frocks can be a wee bit difficult to carry off when you’re 26 and lacking the presence of someone as regal as, say, Christine Bayer. The cute cocktail dresses offered a lighter alternative for those shy of red-carpet galas and formal affairs.

Things became a bit tricky when Santiago sampled silver paettes (essentially pailettes, except not in disc form) on a knee-length number, which paid homage to seasons-ago Versace, and a silver gown in the same material, only this time the paettes came in scalloped laser-cut tiers. The whole endeavor was hard to pull off and kudos to Santiago for trying but it’s clear that the designer’s powers lie in earthier, more unaffected fare.

Overall, the collection was precise, cohesive and could easily be considered Santiago’s finest work to date. Not bad for someone who only had two and a half months to scrape together a collection.