Thirty years. What has that been like?

Here in this Q&A, Inno Sotto talks about his 30 years in fashion and the people that have helped him shape his career.

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: Who were some of the first few clients who have lasted all these years?

INNO SOTTO: The Aranetas, the Elizaldes, the Zobels, first the much older generation, then the younger ones, so I think that’s good, that’s nice.

Because of people I met along the way, other doors were opened earlier, other opportunities came earlier, and I was perhaps able to do certain things much earlier than I had anticipated or planned in my career, which I think has really been one of the nicest things that has happened to me. I think just the whole idea of being able to celebrate 30 years in the business and somehow being able to stay afloat and be constantly doing things is a blessing. I’ve also been very conscious that staying there has a lot to do with the work I do and who I address it to. I’ve been so concerned about the moment, that’s the most important thing for me in fashion. I’m interested in the past and curious about the present, but it’s the moment that is important, it’s that flick of time that matters between me and a client when I try to address their needs or concerns.

I’ve had a wonderful journey getting here, and certainly there were people responsible for helping me come this far. My late friend Richard Tann, the Zobels, the late Fe Panlilio, Virgie Ramos, Ming Ramos, Elsa Klensch, Isabel Preysler, and now the Tantoco family of Rustan’s. They’ve kept me interested in my work with the things that they do and the projects that they have.

Best in show: This photo of Sotto’s gowns by Neal Oshima appeared in the Best of the Philippines 1990 book. Bea Recto, Rose Tiu, and Myrza Sison modeled for the designer.

Speaking of the importance of “the moment,” how have you stayed in touch with the times?

It’s my curiosity, I think, in everything that’s happening, not necessarily limited to fashion, certainly not. I’m interested in things that have to do with issues, in cinema, with the changes that happen in all our lives now, in politics, whether here or abroad — [all these] affects many things. Fashion isn’t separate anymore, if it must make sense. If you stay in an ivory tower and all the frivolity, there’s no meaning in everthing that’s happening. If you have to address real people and their needs you have to be conscious of those things.

And what is the moment of today?

More than any time in the history of mankind, there is an interest in many things, a curiosity, the bad side of which is inquisitiveness, which sort of suggests crossing private boundaries. I’m not too crazy about being inquisitive. Curiosity is more of what should be available to all of us. That, I think, is the moment for me.

My clients are interested in politics, world affairs, and issues that concern them and their children, and these are components that make up the whole—who and what they’re all about, which makes them interesting for me. I’m in the field of design, design is the language of my profession, it might be understood by most, but design should be appreciated by many. It can’t just be meant only for a few.

How does this moment translate into your designs?

They’re real clothes. They’re easy clothes. They’re not fussy. Even the most privileged in the group that I cater to, they’re very particular about design and quality, but they’re not fussy and they don’t want things that are overbearing, that call attention to themselves. They’re very private women, it just so happens that the cause or advocacy they believe in and their interests call attention to them, but nothing they do is really meant for the public. It’s not like they’re in cinema or entertainment. That’s the one common characteristic about these women, very private, very selective, despite their being known.

How does this concept figure in this day and age of the celebrification of fashion?It seems essential now for every designer to dress showbiz figures in order to become a household name.

Apples Aberin wearing a Sotto design in a 1997 show.Photo by NELSON VILLARICA

Every brand must have a provenance. It must suggest a provenance, what the brand’s all about, who’s behind it. And to last long, it must be real. It cannot be made-up or artificial. And that brand, if it [is to] evolve in the moment, will constantly have to reinvent itself or it remains stagnant. And that’s the most dynamic thing, I think, about what fashion is, that it’s committed to change.

And how do celebrities figure in this definition of fashion?

I seem to be missing something…in local fashion, I cannot seem to understand, when I see things: Is it the woman who chooses the design, or is it a stylist who chooses it for her? Or is it a designer who decides for her? Either way, there is something unreal about it. It has nothing to do with the individual. For Hollywood red carpet events, designers send current pieces from the collection, stylists will suggest certain pieces, but at the end of the day I think it’s the personality who chooses what she wants to wear. A stylist comes in, perhaps tweaking the whole thing and suggesting a few things, but it has to have something to do with the personality who’s going to wear it, they must respect who and what she’s all about.

Do you think this lack of individuality in fashion you see among local celebrities is a reflection of the way Filipino women dress in general?

To a certain extent, yes, I mean, there’s so much “peer pressure,” they want to belong, they want to feel like they’re part of what’s happening. And in trying to want to do that, their whole intention is to stand out, to say something about themselves, not realizing that they fail to say that, you see nothing about them, in their choices, in they way they dress, and their whole surroundings.

What does it say about the Filipina psyche? Could it be that she doesn’t really know who she is such that she has to have the bag du jour in order to get that certain stamp of approval from her peers?

Yes, to a large extent, yes. One of the most interesting personalities is Gilda Cordero Fernando. She doesn’t care. And because she doesn’t care, she stands out. But she doesn’t stand out because it is her whole intention to stand out, but she just manages to rise above the rest.

Who else is like that?

Baby Fores is another. Way before minimalism, way before many of the looks you see in fashion today, she was there. I was just with her the other night at a fitting, and we talked about this. I said she belongs to a generation of women who were so sure of themselves. One was never inclined to look like the other. Chona Kasten was different from Elvira Manahan, as Elvira was different from Baby, and they were very close friends. Or, say, Prissy Sison. All so different.

What happened? What’s happening to the women of today?

 I don’t know. I think it was also because “made-to-order” was there. If it was the Kahirup Ball or a big event in Manila, a designer like Christian Espiritu or Ramon Valera would dress a Chona Kasten, not many Chona Kastens; a Baby Fores, and not many of them. It was meant for that one particular individual. Today, it’s a little different. In fact, I think it’s very different. Even if a lot women can have things made, for some strange reason, they unconsciously want to suggest to a designer that they want to be like…it’s like wedding gowns: Strapless gowns, spaghetti strap gowns…nobody has a sense of romance, very few individuals really now these days.

So would you say the Inno Sotto bride is an individual? It’s every Filipina bride’s dream to have a gown made by Inno Sotto.

Well, not because it’s an Inno Sotto, but because I think she…You know, the gowns I did years ago are so much like the gowns that are around now, devoid of anything. The strength was always in its simplicity and fabrication—it had nothing to do with the “icing.” I’d like to think it was good cake. I always tell any bride that comes to me, in deciding on anything that has to do with the wedding, it’s important to step back and try to imagine everything 25 years hence. Case in point, Princess Diana got married in 1981 to royalty. That gown, the hairstyle, everything about that wedding looks hideous today. And yet much earlier on, Grace Kelly, also married into royalty, that gown today, you’d want to wear. So the icing on the cake became classic maybe because Princess Grace had a sense of style all her own. Maybe perhaps for Princess Di, not that I really knew her, but people made decisions for her (she was 19), there was pressure to play a role.

So how do you become timeless and yet still be individual? How do you make something classic stand out?

By never being concerned with fashion because it is fashionable. Once you take it too seriously you lose the perspective with which you should really see it — the clothes, the accessories. Today, I think, will eventually register in the history of fashion as something like the ’70s — everything is exaggerated, a departure from a relatively conservative or rather serious period in fashion history. It becomes a caricature of the times. One has to learn how to edit. Edit not to please others but to please yourself. Learn how to be true to yourself through your choices.

What’s your advice to young designers who want to emulate your lasting power in the industry?

Stop pleasing others. Please yourself first.

But how do you do that and still make a living if the customer is always right? How do you marry your art with commerce?

Opportunities will find you, clients will find you. You know, the generation of designers to which I belong, we weren’t privileged then to have all the glossy magazines and lifestyle pages today to actually throw us into the arena, to make people know of us, but we all managed. And because of that, [today’s designers] lose out, I think. Unconsciously, they think they are there to be perceived by being in the moment, but it says nothing of what moment it is and whose moment it is. In being too conscious of their peers’ work…it has nothing to with your moment, it has to do with a designer perhaps trying to connect in a different sort of way with his own client. A lot of clothes in magazines and shows now look the same, and I’m not putting them down, I still maintain the fact that I think we have very, very gifted designers considering all the limitations we have in this field. But they’re all styled the same way, they all look the same. If you remove names and captions in the magazines, you won’t be able to tell them apart. And yet before, you could tell an Auggie Cordero from a Joe Salazar, a Joe from a Gang Gomez, from a Cesar Gaupo, from the things that I do.

And today, whose work stands out?

Jojie Lloren, Ivar Aseron, Joey Samson, James Reyes.

Any females?

Arcy Gayatin.

What are they doing right?

They’re not performing. They’re literally being true to their craft. And I feel that amongst us, and I’m talking about one or two designers in that list, we can tell who are performers in our group.

How are they performers?

They perform for people to be in awe of them and what they do. They intentionally do things to always get attention. They’re concerned about being showstoppers.

Does this mean that self-promotion or promotion of any form is necessarily a bad thing for your art?

No, it’s not bad. This is how I see it. I’ve often been asked to speak at competitions. In one such competition years ago I was asked to speak to a group of finalists, and the topic was “The Filipino Terno: Where is it Going in the 21st Century?” The first question I asked was, why must it actually go anywhere? I think we have a tendency to want to tamper, to make things different and when we do that, we eventually lose what it’s all about. And that’s why, for instance, India, Japan, China, people go there for inspiration, to see what it’s all about; nothing’s tampered with, it’s real. That’s why these countries have always been the spectacle, they’ve never been the spectators in the field of design.

Are you suggesting we keep things traditional? What about innovation, reinvention?

The Filipino dress has been so tampered with. The mestiza dress, the terno. Underneath, it’s just a Western gown with spaghetti straps. That’s what it is. There are so many versions of it. It’s gotten so out of hand. I thought the Presidential Inaugural looked like a lay santacruzan. I thought it was a bit strange when the new administration sort of suggests to me common sense and practicality, realness. But then it’s no one’s fault.

So you didn’t like what anyone wore to the inaugural?

It’s like the SONA, which has everyone too excited at 3 p.m. in the afternoon and if you really think about what the SONA is all about, it’s about the First Person of the country telling us this is where we are and this is where we’re going, this is what we don’t have and this is what we should have. But everybody looks like they’re going to a party. I don’t understand that, the party mood. Sure, Filipinos are happy people but I find it a little strange sometimes. But there was a time, though, and it showed in the Ramon Valera and Slim’s restrospectives, you could see ternos worn during the day, such as those worn by Luz Banzon Magsaysay, done in a printed fabric devoid of any kind of beading, devoid of any kind of etcetera, etcetera, because they were worn in the daytime. Now everything looks like a santacruzan. There’s no sense of propriety. It’s always “Showtime!” It’s patalbugan, “they must talk about what I’m what wearing and not necessarily who I am or what I’m all about.”

And how do you buck the trend and not join the bandwagon?

I actually made a few things for the inaugural. I made a simple kimona patadyong for Gretchen. But from what I understand, one of the dresses that caught everyone’s eye was a vintage black terno I did for Ching Escaler 18 years ago, when she was going to be an ambassador somewhere. I was really surprised. People said it’s kept very well, the design still looks good, I thought that was interesting. And it was her. It was truly her. She’s a very quiet person. When you’re so conscious about being in these write-ups, you know, about “Who wore what,” it can get totally out of hand.

How do you deal with clients you think you won’t like?

I’ve had one or two. I entertain them, at least once, I do, but I know it will be one of those short-lived (relationships) and yet on the other hand, I’ve had women coming to me over and over again.

Do you ever reject clients?

I politely make an excuse after the first dress.

What makes you decide not to continue the relationship?

After they come to me saying they saw something I did on someone else, but unconsciously on their part they come to me telling me what they think they should be wearing. I realize, “you don’t need a designer but perhaps just someone who can execute it for you.” It’s no conversation but just one person talking and I realize in the most successful relationships there’s always communication. Even when I’m not with a client, we have to understand each other, we’re always on the same wavelength.

So they must never come to you with a peg?

A lot of people have, and that’s when I see that maybe perhaps…I don’t know if it’s the dress that they want, which maybe anyone can do for them or they think I can do new things that will look good on them for the occasion.

What’s the best kind of client?

Oh, (the kind) who leaves everything up to me.

Is it true you only dress thin women?

No, no, not at all, certainly not, no! I dress women, period. I find them interesting, especially today, they’re more free. Sometimes I don’t understand women who confine themselves to looking like everyone else. It’s so ridiculous.

Besides Christian Espiritu, did you have other mentors? How about protégés?

No, Christian was the only designer I worked for. Protégés, never had any, but eventually I’d like to get into mentorship.

Why? What for?

Ignorance is not the fault of the ignorant, it’s the fault of those who know. Not that I know everything or that what I know is right, but it would be good. Christian was very generous in teaching me, in sharing things. I had absolutely zero knowledge of anything that had to do with fashion. I spent a lot of time in the backroom and Christian then was a very prolific designer—he had menswear, ready-to-wear, made-to-order, he had a shoe line. He would work and I would watch and he was so patient, he’d explain things. He opened my eyes to many things. It is because of him that I appreciated design.

And would you like to do the same thing for younger designers?

Yes, certainly, I would like to. I taught a class recently, part of the fashion workshop at STI. They were mostly women, a couple of guys, and everybody sitting there, I could tell, thought I’d give them a formula. There is no formula. You will have to discover how to make your own perfect chocolate cake. Then you can claim it as yours. Otherwise, it is someone else’s.

What are the most important attributes every designer must have?

Resilience, tenacity, curiosity. These are what have kept me afloat.

Why just “afloat?”

You know, sometimes it’s the most awkward thing…what does one say about being called “Prince of Fashion?” Good Lord, I wouldn’t know…

Yes, who christened you that?

I don’t know! (Laughs). Before it was “The Philippines’ Premier Designer.” It’s a bit too pompous to go about your work thinking that about yourself. At the end of the day, I don’t know who I am as a designer in the eyes of the public. It’s up to the public to judge and tell me what it’s all about when I actually say “Okay, guys, I’ve had it.” And maybe I can step back, but I don’t intentionally do things to be called a “classic, elegant” designer. Nothing is intentional. I do what I want to do. Maybe it falls under a certain type of look for some. But it has worked for me. It may not work for others.

Is there pressure for you to stick to what you’re known for? Do you ever stray?

The one who I’m always serious about is the Inno Sotto today. Next year’s Inno Sotto will say, “So you did that, let’s see what you can do this year.” I’m not curious about what all the other designers before me or after me are doing or might think. And it’s not because I’m full of myself but I can’t. I don’t think I should be anyone‘s yardstick; neither is anyone a yardstick for me to measure what it is that I should do or how successful I should be, I’m not bothered or concerned by that.

But you must keep abreast of the industry?

I keep abreast because I’m curious about it. When Jojie Lloren was sent to Paris after winning the Philippine Young Designers Competition in 1998, we had already started Fashion Watch. CITEM was about to choose representatives, they were going to conduct a competition. I told Eli Pinto and Fe Reyes, just come and watch Fashion Watch this week, and you’ll see. Sure enough, they found the representatives they needed. Noon pa lang, it showed, they were doing interesting work. And then later on, there was Ivar Aseron. And Joey Samson. They’re different from each other. They’re different from the rest of the pack.

Are you continuing Fashion Watch?

Yes, next year. We have 20 designers in our lineup. It stopped just before Richard passed away in 2005, but I resumed it last year. I didn’t continue it until the year before last and I intend to continue it every year. So that other designers who don’t get the chance can let people know what it is that they do outside of editorials and hopefully be able to address a different market.

What do you think of Fashion Week?

It provides a venue for many, many new designers, a lot of designers, but it’s not a question of how many designers you can have in a show. You have to know why you’re doing it. I don’t want to say that Fashion Watch is the answer, or the end-all and be-all. Fashion Watch started it, then came Metrowear, and now there’s Fashion Week. But it’s like all the different programs that have been planned by all the ministries and agencies that are meant for the fashion industry that have always failed. The decisions are made and planned by people who are not in the profession. Fashion Watch is planned by designers. The last time I met with all these designers (they agreed) that it is not Inno Sotto’s project, it is a fashion show for designers by designers. We have to know what it is that we want and why we are doing it.

Fashion Week, there are people behind it and I’m sure the intentions are good. But I think we should all sit down at one point in time and look at the bigger picture and see where we all want to take it. Or we will not be of any service or any good to the next generation. They will have to start in a certain way again and go through everything all over again. My God, so much time has passed wala rin naming napuntahan.

Do you mean what government should do in uplifting fashion?

Government should have a hand. I’m not talking about any particular administration, but they’re all concerned about their report cards. But if it doesn’t benefit the rest there’s no point to it.

So there’s a lack of clarity in goals?

Yes, there is no Divine Plan, so to speak, no Master Plan so it will continually go on, regardless of who’s sitting as a minister in that particular agency, it should work.

Is there a lack of dialogue with designers?

Yes, one. But you know it’s also true that some designers have no idea about what’s really missing.

What is really missing?

Fashion is a business. It has all the gloss, but is a business. I’m not just talking about made-to-Order, but everything about it: retail, accessories, everything. At the end of the day, it must do well and address a bigger market, here and abroad. It must sell. That’s why I don’t like it when they say “Fashion is elitist.” To a certain extent maybe it seems that way, but people wear clothes, every segment of our society. I think it’s unfortunate. So many things have happened since my generation, wala. All the prominent names of Filipino designers you hear now, they have had to go out of the country to succeed.

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

If you’re conscious about doing something in your time, you will fail doing it. It’s not real. It’s like being concerned with your report card.

But how do you do that and still live a purposeful life?

I do things to please myself, that’s what I meant when I said you can’t go about your life pleasing, you can’t be patronizing. It will not do anything for you, you end up pleasing everybody but yourself. And you lose yourself in the end. And I think that’s a tragedy for anyone. In politics you see that. When you try to please everyone you end up…

Corrupt?

Yes, di ba? If you try to please this group, that group, you end up not pleasing the majority.

Let’s talk about (Inno’s late business and life partner) Richard Tann.

Ah, he was the core of my whole being, the most important force of my life for 24 years. Because of him I learned how to fly really high. We inspired each other, stimulated each other, supported each other. No matter how crazy an idea or vision was, he would shake his head, but he would always be behind it. He would find a way to make things possible.

Do you think every designer needs a Richard Tann?

Yes, definitely. All the most successful designers had one. Pierre Berge for Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani had one, Valentino had Giammetti.

How did you even manage life without him?

He’s been gone for five years, the first three years were very, very difficult for me. I would go about doing things, going through life like it was a silent black-and-white movie. Totally no soundtrack. I coped with work. Work is a blessing. Being interested in what you do is a blessing. Trying to keep your curiosity, keep yourself focused on doing well, not on what has been but on what should be or can be.

Then, enter Joseph Marco.

And then now my little boy. I call him Marco but he know he’s Joseph. I’m working on legally adopting him next year. He turned two last Saturday, and he calls me Ahya, which is Chinese for “older brother.”

What’s fatherhood like?

It’s amazing. I recommend it to everyone. Everyone! You cannot imagine the amount of stress and pressure I’m going through to put this whole show together, but I always step back and take this perspective: It’s a 30-year party in just a bigger space but it’s a small show, really. I don’t go out and say, “Now is the chance to do this!” I have to see it from the perspective from which I should always see things.

And how has a child changed your perspective?

It’s real. I’m not a designer at home. I’m not any of that. He doesn’t know that. When he recognizes me in a photo in a magazine and says “Ahya?”, he doesn’t think it’s anything really. Marco calms me, he makes me laugh, makes me smile. I’m a sleeper. My favorite place in the whole world is my bed. But I don’t get as much sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night just to see if he’s moved too much or no longer covered by the blanket.

You go to church every day. What are you praying for?

Yes, if I miss mass at least I have to visit the adoration chapel. It’s a private devotion, I have to talk to somebody and just say things, think out loud, share things. My whole family is in America, I’m the only one here. It’s made me strong, kept me there. I’m careful about asking for things for myself, always been, but now I pray that Marco grows up in a kind of world where he will never be abused emotionally, physically, mentally, that he will learn to be kind and respectful as I hope others will be towards him. I want him to have always a dream in front of him, always able to dare pay the price to fulfill that dream.

What still keeps you on your toes or prevents you from resting on your laurels?

I’m not concerned about those things. People’s impression of me has nothing to do with me, really. It’s a dangerous environment if that’s what you’re always concerned with because it can be very intoxicating. And it can unconsciously fool you into thinking that you are who they say you are. If a client is pleased with what I do, then I assure myself that I will have that client, and another one, perhaps, tomorrow. But I can’t end up pleasing everybody with what they think I should or shouldn’t do.

And if you don’t believe in who they say you are, then who are you?

An architect makes houses, a doctor practices medicine, a writer writes, I’m a designer, and I make clothes. That’s it. Eventually if I write a book, that’s the title I would like it to have: “It’s just a piece of fabric.” That’s what it is, essentially: Guys, it’s just clothing!

You said you hate the idea of a “retrospective.”

After seeing Slim’s, (I realized) there’s so much to do. It was so humbling.

Her retrospective, in terms of the number of pieces, was not big but it said so many things about the journey she took as a designer and the women that she actually dressed.

How did this make you feel about your own journey?

Thirty years has seemed like forever to me at a certain point. But it’s just the first chapter. The Genesis. And I sense that, I feel that. I feel like I’m entering something else.

What do you want people to feel when they come out of your show on Sunday?

Special. That I wanted them around celebrating my 30th year, blowing the candles on the cake. It’s a simple show, no over-the-top type of thing, it’s just being true to myself and it’s just a bigger venue.