THERE was no escaping the glam at the Diagold and Cary Santiago show on Sept. 11. Amid all the (literal) gold and diamonds (not just on the jewels, but the clothes themselves), one felt strangely inadequate in plain black and white.
Prior to the show at the Shangri-La The Fort, the Cebu-based jewelry brand (which was collaborating with the Cebuano designer), showed off its new collection in a showcase at the center of the ballroom. The collection, called Crown Jewels, showed bold colored gemstones — rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and yellow diamonds — in royal-worthy settings, surrounded and paved by halos of diamonds.
The jewels were worn on the runway: dresses accented with diamond drop pendants, pink sapphire eardrops, a large diamond brooch, an emerald parure, a necklace made of numerous rows of sapphires, and more than a sprinkling of yellow diamonds.
The clothes held their own, despite the sheer weight of the jewels (we noted that some of the stones were as large as bird eggs).
The first dress out on the runway had a huge gold eagle at the bust and skirt, executed in braid. A hat that looked like it came from the Dior archives accompanied a dress with a skirt scattered with ostrich feathers, followed by an all-black lace outfit. Silver baroque foliage added to the drama of a cape with silver tubes, then tassels added movement to a white net dress.
More tassels are seen in an underrobe worn by a man, accompanying a suit. A gold lamé dress similar to a 1953 William Travilla gown made for Marilyn Monroe made an appearance on the runway, improved with sculptured bows and cranes at the back.
There was a sculptured bodice with padded hips (similar to a 1950s Balenciaga creation). A beaded flapper dress made one think of Liza Minelli in Cabaret, while the men joined the fun with a velvet hooded jacket.
Gold “feathers” (actually fabric designed to look like them) were all around a floor-length dress, that got a nod of approval from an audience member wearing (almost) the same thing.
A dress was quite literal with sculptured spiders crawling over it, followed by a dove-gray dress adorned with (you guessed it) gray doves. Another dress came with anatomically correct herons, while another dress had the birds forming the gown’s hips.
Numerous animals made it on the runway: we’ve covered the birds, but there was another dress in bronze, with an iguana on the shoulder, its mouth holding the skirt. Another dress came in the shape of a cobra, the snake’s hood forming, well, the hood, with an embossed pattern that mimicked the snake’s scales. Animal prints also came in the picture, with stylized interpretations of leopard and zebra print.
The finale dress showed off mounds of fabric cut and layered to look like feathers, fluttering as it went down the runway, seeming almost alive.
That is Cary Santiago’s gift: using natural forms of animals and making them wearable. Active in the business for over 20 years, the show on Sept. 11 marked his first Manila solo show in a decade. One might argue that he’s one-note, but if he’s good at it, he might as well keep at it.
“My collection is inspired by fauna: those that fly, run, and grow,” he said in a video shown prior to the show. “I also love the feathery softness of birds in flight.”
DiaGold has branches in Ascott Makati, Glorietta 1, SM Grand Central, SM City Iloilo, SM City Cebu, SM Seaside City Cebu, SM City Davao, SM City Bacolod, Ayala Malls Capitol Central Bacolod, Ayala Center Cebu, Nustar Resort & Casino Cebu, and Waterfront Hotel and Casino Cebu. — Joseph L. Garcia
