Martin Bautista is seeing red

MANILA, Philippines - In Martin Bautista’s Lady Danger collection, red is the color of the moment. Inspired by a tube of bold red lipstick, Bautista, an avid fan of Christina Aguilera, channeled powerful women for his collection of fitted body suits and dresses. “I’ve always been in love with the idea of women as strong, realistic, attached to day-to-day issues, unpretentious — but for this collection, I was thinking of a woman who’s unafraid to experience pain, unafraid to be in danger, a risk taker, someone’s who’s not worried of getting in trouble or someone who’s not afraid to face any problem or issues.”

Utilizing strategically-draped jersey, chiffon, rayon knits, lace, duchesse satin, silk satin, leatherette and cotton twill, he manipulated the textures into easy breathable pieces with daring cutouts all over the figure.

Clearly the powerful women he imagined while sketching his collection wouldn’t mind baring plenty of skin.

His muses include Ruffa Gutierrez and Solenn Heussaff, females who aren’t afraid to wear a mini so brief it’s almost undetectable. Heussaff has been known to bare all in lad magazines like Uno and Rogue.

It’s the first time the designer has taken such a bold hue, a departure from his usual neutral palette of black and beige, which makes it seasonally appropriate. Taking his cue from the recent collections at Paris and Milan fashion weeks, he took it a step further and made red the key color of the series. “The use of red was something I really enjoyed,”he says. “I attempted to use it before but it didn’t work — so it felt like it came at the right time with the right mood.”

The highlight of the collection — in Bautista’s eyes, at least — is his take on the universal dress. “There’s one chiffon piece that can be worn as a top, dress or gown,” he says. “It depends on how creatively you can control the garment.”

“I really love it when a piece can be worn many times,” he adds. “I think a good dress is one that when you wear it for the second time it doesn’t look like the same dress you wore the first time!“