|
It is to
Inno Sotto’s brilliant flash of insight and exercise in
discipline that in a fashion season marked by excess, he
opts for restraint and resplendence. In Alhambra, his
recent calculated showcase at the Makati Shangri-La with
current accessories darling Bea Valdes, the increasingly
inaccessible designer delivered a visceral and virtuoso
presentation.
Volumes
and plumes ruled the runway as one fantastic creation
after another was showed off by select models who
underwent workshops under director Ariel Lozada, like in
previous important Sotto shows. The stunning entrance of
a dress was just as dramatic as its exit. Front details
were as significant as the backside, as in the green
plunging gown worn by JP Abinuman, Ria Bolivar’s silk
taffeta high-necked gown with feathers and bubble
sleeves, and Jasmine Maierhofer’s black gowns.
As in
every Sotto showcase, elegance is underscored as the
designer refuses to be ensnared by trends, encumbered by
gimmicks or cowed by the scarcity of materials. His
brilliance and longevity lie in the delicate divide
between satiating his own creative needs, as well as
pleasing his ever-growing clientele.
Inspired
by his trip to Alhambra, Spain, where Christians and
Moors live in relative convergence, the collection—as
well as Valdes’s breathtaking bags and dangling
pieces—is replete with religious imagery, striking
colors, El Greco references and Franciscan riffs.
Sotto’s
distinct class and sophistication can easily be
identified with his choice of luxurious fabric, such as
silk, taffeta, chiffon, Chantilly lace, crêpe de chine
and four-ply crêpe. Daywear pieces had apparent
principles of couture engineered into them, like in
Grace Tagle’s pink pantsuit and Raya Mananquil’s mustard
marvel.
Sotto
knows too well that his clothes have an exceedingly
fluent vocabulary, but in a halting speech, he admitted:
“I am not one to stand in front of an audience at the
start of a show. I am dying a thousand deaths.” He then
went on to thank society doyenne Imelda Cojuangco for
chairing the event.
“In my
last three shows in the last four years, the Virlanie
Foundation has been the beneficiary.” It is a private,
nonsectarian child-caring institution that has staunch
advocates among Monaco’s royalty who have come to the
country to lend their support.
This
year the incomparable Isabel Preysler was the guest of
honor. As eloquent as she is glamorous, she was able to
sum up Sotto’s place in the field of fashion: “For more
than 20 years, Inno Sotto has flourished and reached new
heights. He has achieved the highest rank of his
profession. I believe in and praise his Filipino
creativity.” |
