A Pinoy designer finds success in unusual locale

When local designers seek out success outside of the Philippines, they go to New York (as Rafe Totengco did) or LA (Monique Lhuillier) or even Dubai (Michael Cinco) where deep-pocketed clients with red-carpet event-packed social calendars are plentiful.

Don Protasio went in the opposite direction. He moved to Cambodia.

In 2007, Roxas- born designer Don Protasio decided to make the shift. “I curated an art gallery specializing in Khmer modern art,” he says, “then I decided to move my whole designing operation as well, set up a workshop and open a store.”

A regular renaissance man, he has dabbled in costume design, acted in plays, done photography, graphic design, styling and painting. “I like doing creative stuff and not limiting myself solely to designing clotEdit Articlehes,” he says.

His store, located in the northwestern province of Cambodia, currently features a pre-collection for spring/summer 2011. “It’s mostly easy dresses and tops hand-dyed, hand-printed, hand-drawn with hand-embroidered details.”

Using lead-free dye, Protasio mixed modal jersey and cotton as a canvas for his prints. “The bird print was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,’” he explains. “The fish print was inspired by the beach town of Kep here in Cambodia.”

YStyle talks tourist business, The Simpsons and living the life in Cambodia with the designer.

Would you say that in order for Pinoy designers to grow, they need to find success outside of our 7,000-plus islands?

It can work both ways but I guess my aesthetic is much more appreciated here than when I was home. But we can’t deny that there is that Pinoy mentality that you get more value when you find success abroad.

How has Cambodia influenced your work?

Siem Reap is a tourist town, home to Angkor Wat, so the bulk of my customers are tourists. So I have gradually adjusted my style and products to appeal to that market. My designs are less labored, less cumbersome and must travel quite well. More natural and lightweight fabrics in designs that drape well on a broader body type. There’s an air of lightness to my style now compared to what I did when I was in the Philippines maybe because I’m more relaxed here.

Define your aesthetic.

I like introverted designs. I love designing separates, classic pieces like T-shirts, jackets and simple dresses with details that elevate them a little from the mundane. I can be androgynous at times and layered.

How would you describe the progression of your work?

Before it was clothes for the sake of making a statement — nail-encrusted numbers, stuff poured with melted plastics and other mixed media creations. Now I’m conscious of wearability while still infusing some of those experimental details that I love.

There’s been a shift in two directions, I’ve noticed. This love for digital prints, clean almost surgical silhouettes, and then there’s your stuff — raw, natural, more organic.

I think fashion has always played on polar opposites. Like also now we see all those designers doing minimal, Helmut Lang/Jil Sander ‘90s style while others have embraced a more baroque, textured and Lacroix-esque vision. The raw, organic feel of my collection is my reaction to all the strict silhouettes, the bodycon and post-apocalyptic Balmain style I see around. It’s about lounging around, looking fragile and relaxed. I want an easy mood for this line. 

What caused you to lean in a more natural direction?

I went to Kep, a coastal town here in Cambodia and also stayed in Koh Kong Island, eating scallops and seafood freshly caught from the sea. That inspired me. I’m so into ease and comfort in my designs now. I love jersey cotton, soft linen and silk. There’s a lot of rustic, weather beaten houses near the sea in Kep and I was inspired by the soft, aged colors. 

Are you an environmentalist? If so, how is that reflected in your work?

I try to be responsible but I really don’t want my line to be all those eco-whatever. We have a lot of those here in Cambodia which is almost cheesy. But we use dyes without lead so it’s not harmful. I buy old stock fabrics from the local market which they get from the factories. We hand dye, hand print, hand embroider and hand draw our designs. We recycle all our fabric cuttings as pillow stuffing.

Can you talk a little about your life in Kep? How do you spend your days?

I don’t really live in Kep but I’ve been visiting it regularly. It has been called the Cannes of Asia in the ‘60s. There’s really nothing to do in Kep except to eat seafood, swim, lounge, sleep and let time slip by. There’s not a lot of backpackers so you don’t see sleazy bars and other cliché tourist stuff. The place is very elegant with a lot of abandoned buildings. Most of the resorts there have restored old buildings so there’s a modern/nostalgic feel to it. Kep is a place to escape for me where I stay in the pool as much as possible with iced lime juice in my hand.

How is it different from your hometown?

I was based in Iloilo but I’m originally from Roxas city so I have this affinity for the sea. I only go to Manila for shows and clients. I’m based in Siem Reap now and it’s basically a little town with international visitors compared to Manila or Iloilo which are really urban centers with traffic jams, malls and all the trappings of a big city. It’s definitely more relaxing here. And I don’t miss home that much because I go back every six months, anyway. I enjoy meeting a lot of different personalities here in Siem Reap, a lot of creative people from all over the globe.

How has Siem Reap responded to your work? Who do you find has been continually drawn to your stuff?

So far so good. There’s a real fashion magazine now here in Cambodia and they have embraced my designs. I moved to a bigger space to house my designs so it has been very positive and encouraging. I plan to open another one in the capital, Phnom Penh.

A lot of Aussies love my designs! I find it surprising. Although we regularly have buyers from New York, Dubai and London.

What excites you at the moment?

I’ve recently taken yoga and I’m excited to create a collection geared towards that whole lifestyle. I usually design according to my mood and it somehow connects to what I’m obsessively doing at the moment. I’m also developing a childrenswear line called Small DP because some of my friends bugged me to make stuff for their little tykes. And I’m organizing this arts festival with a friend. We are curating the selection and it’s gonna be in December.

This collection is for 2011. What do you think the prevailing mood will be for the coming year?

Well, I’m using some intense colors mixed with more natural, muted tones. It’s definitely going to be a more precise and clean look for me. I have been doing layered looks for some season now and somehow for summer 2011 I’m thinking of just showing basic pieces with just the right amount of unusual detail and less layering. I’m veering away from overwrought, over-designed stuff which isn’t me anyway.

The collection featured here revolves around “The Raven.” Why Edgar Allan Poe?

I watched a Simpsons episode, where they used “The Raven.” The lyrical, melodic tone of the poem stuck with me. I guess, Last Poem Syndrome? LOL! I had to exorcise it.

The poem is kind of bleak, with its melancholic tones. Not to mention that Poe was suffering at the time it was written. From the bits I remember from high school, he was concerned that his wife was unable to recover from her illness. Are there particularly melancholic elements that served your collection? Apart from your color palette, that is.

There’s always something dark and moody about what I do anyway. I’m a collector of skull pendants and I’ve started buying organic jewelry recently like cuffs made of horns and this necklace of snake spine. There’s an element of death there but out of it comes something beautiful. There’s poetry in decay and imperfection.

What are you thinking about doing next?

Create more clothes and open more shops. I have to work on my website www.donprotasio.com. There has been interest from stockists abroad so I hope we can work that out because I’ve been resisting the proposal. Not that I’m against it but it has to be at a pace where I can still have an easy life. The last thing that I want to have right now is stress. As what Helmut Lang said, “Only money doesn’t make you happy,” and I totally agree.