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LESLEY
MOBO may very well be the designer who came in from the
cold. In his relatively young but accomplished career,
his 2002 “Obesity in the North Pole” Central Saint
Martins graduate pieces and his recent showcase at the
Greenbelt 5, the Matavenero New Tribe collection,
underscored his preference of dressing women in layers
of clothing best suited for cooler climes.
But Mobo
hails from sun-drenched Aklan, and for him to conjure
collections for subzero locales is on account of a
dichotomous and paradoxical creative vision that stems
from his wandering and inquisitive mind. The sandy
beaches of Boracay are indeed a long stretch to the
Thames in
London,
where he cultivated his astonishing talent as the head
designer of the Jasmine di Milo label sold at Harrod’s.
But with Mobo, provenance and destination are nonfactors.
“I
realize that I don’t have to travel to know what’s
happening everywhere. With the advances in technology
and communications, everyone will know what’s happening
in Siberia or elsewhere,” the lean-framed Mobo said,
baring his design inspirations at the restaurant Red of
the Makati Shangri-La, days before his gala as part of
the “Bravo Filipino” series of the Ayala Malls.
Because
he seldom goes home to the Philippines, Mobo and his
British partner often travel to the Iberian Peninsula,
“the closest to home” he could ever get, to soak in the
sights and immerse themselves in the local cultures. In
Portugal he found the people to be not unlike
Filipinos—warm, helpful and friendly. It was during a
trip to the northwest part of
Spain
that he discovered Matavenero.
A
web-site entry says that “[Matavenero] has a rare
freedom to make living spaces for a critical mass of
people having similar intentions and willingness to live
simply in harmony with nature. Here, though the going is
tough, there is a definite feeling of a vision, a
project worth giving energy to, and strong independently
minded people.”
This
ecovillage left a lasting impression on Mobo, so much so
that his “New Tribe” collection was heavily derived from
it. “When it comes down to it, it’s not about the
geographical location per se but about the philosophy”
that inspired the gallivanting designer. It wasn’t the
character, philosophy or history of Matavenero that
informed the 46 looks that he showed. It was his stark
reaction to the utopian direction of the place.
“If such
a community will be replicated elsewhere, with people
conforming to the same dress code and mode of living,
individuality will be extinct. The collection provides
the antidote to this feared uniformity,” Mobo disclosed
back in October, as he was conceptualizing his
homecoming show with his good friend, the intellectual
director Ariel Lozada, a frequent London guest.
“And
though creativity and technology are progressing
breathlessly, sacrificing respect for the environment is
never an option, as the Matavenero people are
espousing,” Mobo, 30, continued. “The choice of
Matavenero as inspiration is in honor of Spain as the
Philippines’ longest colonizer. Our shared history has
enriched our country’s design heritage.”
Matavenero may be a modern-day
Rainbow
Village, a haven for hippies and bohemians, but as
Mobo’s thinking goes, the inspiration is never literally
translated to his creations. Starting with a color
scheme more sober than forlorn, think Angelina Jolie at
the Golden Globes last year in her gray St. John sheath,
and again when she accepted her Oscar in a Morticia
Adams turn, the looks that came down the steps of the
Greenbelt 5 atrium were strong in its austerity, imbued
with a chic that’s bleak.
Sporty
peacoats in wool, a glittering floor-sweeping skirt,
parka vests, and jackets in knits, military-style,
biker-type and punk-inspired; attention-grabbing combat
boots, gold metallic details strategically placed among
the ensembles, bowler hats, stunning Japanese
horror-film makeup by the team of Patrick Rosas—all of
these elements made the fashion exhibition a glorious
and proud moment for Filipino design.
Models
appeared from skewed pentagon-shaped installations, the
five sides referring to the number of adjacent malls
that the Ayala Land is developing at Greenbelt. A video
of a Mobo creation transmogrifying opened the event.
“It’s
more an installation than a show. I made the clothes not
for business purposes, but simply to celebrate Filipino
creativity. How Filipino the collection is depends on
how you perceive it,” Mobo explained, mulling over the
possibility that these same clothes might be showcased
at the East London Fashion Week later this year.
We can
only be grateful that a world-class countryman chose to
show his collection first to Filipinos, trusting us that
somehow our taste has somewhat been enriched. n |
