RTW designer brings high fashion closer to the middle market

MANILA, Philippines - Five collections a month, 12 months a year: The demanding cycle of the department-store-chain RTW industry is not for the weak. As designer Pat Santos puts it, “It’s the survival of the fittest.”

Santos, currently the only designer for ShoeMart, has a successful 17-year-old career comparable to those of the most feted local designers, though his story has been much quieter — understandable, as RTW has long been treated as the dowdier, declassé cousin of couture and high fashion. But with SM’s wide reach and the tens of thousands of his designs that got sold off the mega-store’s racks through the years, Santos has dressed more people than his most famous peers.

An accounting major who dropped out to study design at the Madonna School of Fashion, Santos entered the local design industry in the ‘90s “when couture fashion was waning and RTW was taking over,” he describes. “During the ‘70s and the ‘80s, Inno Sotto and Joe Salazar had their heydays. The next decade, designers of their status remained the only ones with couture clients. When the late Cory Aquino became president, there was no more support for fashion from the government. There was no more money in couture and high fashion; all of us young designers, even Avel (Bacudio, a contemporary), worked as RTW designers at Fair Center.”

Santos’ SM connection began when he became a designer for one of the company’s garment suppliers, which were as many as 70 then. “The SM owners were interested in us as well,” Santos recalls. “They also interviewed us, asked us how we create clothes. If they liked us, then good. If not, then bye.”

He worked with a lot of local SM suppliers first before putting up his own garment company Anyo Apparel. From their earliest collection of basic corporate polos produced by a team of eight, Santos included, Anyo Apparel now has 180 employers, and the staid ‘90s office uniforms have also long since given way to trendier, more streamlined pieces that can go from 9 to 5 and beyond, carried under the SM labels Blanc et Noir and Philosophy. The only constant: Santos at the helm, making the designs and overseeing all the production stages.

“The change happened in the early 2000s,” he shares. “Through the years, the SM bosses changed hands, and the new ones instigated branding among suppliers. We had to submit a certain look for a certain brand name, complete with logo design, to Tessie Sy Coson who made the final approval.” The new retail direction was prompted by SM’s desire to cut down the number of suppliers and the rising competition from Chinese products. “From 17 suppliers, we went down to 10. Harley Sy (of SM Investments Corp.) would always tell us, ‘If you don’t evolve, close your shop because you don’t belong here.’ It was tough competition.”

The first brand that Santos submitted was Woman Philosophy, still seen in the stores today. “In fact, it’s the top-selling brand in SM,” he says with obvious pride. The branding drive was marked with the 2004 mySM.com campaign, featuring Charlene Gonzales as the face of Woman Philosophy. Seeing its success, the company suggested that Santos put up another brand. “They said, ‘Why don’t you try Blanc et Noir? It’s so you, since you’re always wearing black.’ The name even came from them, so I went ahead and did it.” Compared to his earlier label, Blanc et Noir is “more for the active women: edgier, sexier, more daring, with lace, sheer fabrics, and exposed backs. Woman Philosophy, meanwhile, is for the young moms: more corporate but still sexy.”

Santos believes that being both a designer and a manufacturer gives him an edge over the continuous influx of Chinese products in the local market. “We’re aware of their quality standards: classes A, B, C. What Philippines buys is class C, so my strategy has always been to get the standard Filipina measurement. When shoppers try on my clothes, they immediately notice the difference in quality and fit. While Chinese traders can provide low-priced products, as a local supplier, I can control my output and tailor it to the local market; at the end of the day, quality and knowledge of the customer always win.”

And with 17 years under his belt, Santos knows he has mastered giving the Filipina shopper the kinds of clothes she wants. “I know how to make one design fit about 3,000 people,” he states matter-of-factly. “Not as perfectly on each person, but to have more than half the number of shoppers find a design that flatters them takes a lot of design and dress-making knowledge.” In addition to Blanc et Noir and Woman Philosophy, Santos produces a third SM label, Jus Ur Size, aimed for plus-sized women and he’s also had experience in creating teen apparel. “From extra small to triple XL, I’ve dressed every kind of Filipina.”

Thus, he believes the time is ripe for him to go back to his first love: high fashion. “I’ve ‘neglected’ it because of the amount of work I do for SM,” he says. “I would have done this long ago, if it weren’t for RTW. But with my brands established and doing well, I can now make time for high fashion.”

Perhaps due to his extensive experience in trying to satisfy a wide section of the market, Santos is doing a litmus test first by presenting the Pat Santos label’s first collection of evening gowns to a small media group at his Parañaque boutique. Featuring halter necklines, racer backs, and minimal embellishment, the pieces have a young, almost athletic appeal to them, especially with the glimpses of skin seen between laser cut-outs and through sheer panels — not-so-basic black gowns that are more Jennifer Lawrence than Jennifer Aniston. A standout is a gold, long-sleeved, floor-length number, the machine-applied sequins lending it a liquid look; it’s a Bond Girl kind of slinky sexiness. The collection’s predominant fabrics are glittered jersey, lace, both silky and textured chiffon, and velvet shot through with gold threads, lending the simple silhouettes some elegant structure.  

The Pat Santos brand will soon be carried by, no surprise, SM. “They offered me to create this high fashion line for them,” Santos explains. “I’m both a supplier/designer and a business partner, and they’ll provide me space in their premiere malls: MOA, Aura, Makati, and Megamall, as well as Cebu, Davao, and Bacolod. I’ll give SM the collection to display, customers order the style of gowns they like, and I do the sizing for them.”

The best part: his creations will be available early next year for only P5,000 per piece.

“SM can’t raise the price anymore as they want to be recognized for catering to the middle market,” Santos reasons with a laugh. “High fashion is always thought of as A, and I want the B market and below to experience it too at a reasonable price. It’ll be a great help to the industry to have people learning how to wear high fashion and not just T-shirts and pants, without sweating over the cost.”

Aside from evening gowns, Pat Santos will also carry blouses, pants, and skirts, with three to four collections released every month.

Another 2014 project would be his first showing at Philippine Fashion Week. “You can expect a good collection from me then,” he promises. “I’ll present the simplicity of the Filipina, how they can dress in a way that’s glamorous yet comfortable for them.” Grounded by the sellability requirement of commercial fashion, Santos says of his design stance, “It’s not about blinding the audience with illusionary clothes but creating pieces that are real and true.”

As nervous and excited as he is to show the industry what else he can do –– and maybe finally get the rightful kudos he more than deserves –– Santos is no longer unnerved by the commerce aspect of fashion designing. “I don’t regret at all working in RTW for so long because at this point, this high fashion line, this passion project is not about the money,” he says. “It’s a project of humility, my contribution to the public, a continuation of what I’ve been doing. I don’t have to worry about money anymore since I’m no longer a struggling designer; it’s all about the client now.” It’s music to our ears.