It has been said that one’s fingernails betray the state of one’s health. In the same spirit, it has been said that one’s wristwatch points toward his weakness or his success. Just recently we discovered another kind of index. It is that one’s countenance and overall appearance can be an accurate indicator of one’s caliber and proficiency in his chosen calling.While having a one-on-one chat with a fast-rising fashion designer, we concluded that his persona is a precise reflection of the precision and the uncluttered aesthetic of his handiwork: Young Designers Guild member Eric de los Santos. The exchanges of ideas in our one-on-one were so engaging that we almost missed an equally important appointment later that afternoon.
If his participation in the Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2011 showcased clothes that were more or less faultless, it can be attributed to his scrupulous knowledge of clothing construction aided by firsthand experience in pattern-making and a meticulous sense of the different steps required in the execution of any item of apparel. His wealthy inheritance was his exposure to cutting and sewing while Mamma Mia was running a uniform and tailoring trade.
One beguiling treatment de los Santos employed on a few items in his collection was the unraveled narrow strips of scrumptious satin. When pieced together, they generated a 3D effect of a bird’s glossy feather.
Another novel twist he employed was the application of wide cummerbund made out of macramé silk cords.
Not a few neophytes made a faux pas in their adventures following Grecian silhouettes via silk or chiffon. In two or so numbers de los Santos demonstrated his adeptness at elaborate draping. In some mysterious manner he had swags of malleable fabrics surreptitiously suspended from different points of his garments.
His simple yet interesting pieces do not beg for attention. In their purity of lines and seamless executions, Eric de los Santos’s simple wearable clothes do not scream, they merely whisper volumes into their onlookers’ ears.
