Clothes as canvas

WHILE some clothes are often compared to art, Happy Andrada closed the gap between art and fashion in a gala on June 6 at Dicovery Primea, by incorporating the artworks of Juvenal Sansó.

The gala, with the theme “Art inspires fashion,” saw a 30-piece collection by the designer, almost all inspired by a work of the late artist. Just to highlight that relationship, some of Mr. Sansó’s artworks were on display and on sale that night, on loan from Galerie Joaquin.

The gala wasn’t just for fun: it was one of the fundraising activities of the Fundacion Sansó. The foundation raises money for grants and scholarships for art students from Bulacan State University, Far Eastern University, and the University of the Philippines – College of Fine Arts. In that light, Ms. Andrada donated 50% of the proceeds of the sale of her clothes from that evening, while Galerie Joaquin also donated a portion of the sales of the paintings.

Some clothes had already been purchased before the show: a number of donors rose to show off their barong bibs, that evening’s highlighted garment. One of them was made completely of abaca fibers and sculpted to look like a cat. The collection highlights one-of-a-kind barong bibs, which the designer conceived as gender-neutral pieces with a universal fit, embodying both inclusivity and craftsmanship, according to a release.

These barong bibs were executed with the garment’s traditional piña, but also in indigenous weaves, accented with appliques, beading, and embroidery. The show opened with a skirt made of layers of cloth resembling the pages of a book, with the bib showing off a Sansó floral painting rendered in fabric. A second outfit showed another bib bearing fabric cut into strips which were curled and twisted to look like smoke.

Another showed a skirt made with an iridescent black fabric that shimmered like the wings of a beetle. More of this iridescence was seen in a gray satin bib, slit and cut into strips then woven together with piña.

An outfit worn by a male model, meanwhile, featured a stiff ikat pattern worn as a bib over a striped barong, the bib combined with a giant floral applique with intricately cut piña. Another male model wore pants made of binakol, the traditional fabric of the Ilocos and Abra, in a jade green shade, with the model sporting a buri hat with a nipa hut topper.

Striking was a gown executed in a glossy white sheer fabric streaked with blue, evocative of one of the artist’s seascapes. That matched with a male model wearing a binakol bib bearing the seascape the gown referenced.

In another outfit, we saw ruffled sleeves peeking out under a sky-blue bib with a diamond pattern, matched with a sheer saloon skirt. Other striking outfits included one with giant romantic sleeves, a bib with the same pleating and color scheme as a sculptural dress that looked like a closed umbrella. A dusty rose and white skirt meanwhile, was made of layers that formed the shape of petals under a bib layered with several colors of sheer fabric in a similar multicolored scheme as the skirt.

For the show’s finale, the models came out holding gilt frames, placing the Sansó details of their clothes within the frame.

In an interview with Ms. Andrada, she said that working more closely with the art made her notice things that she had not noticed before. “He had more melancholic pieces,” she said of Mr. Sansó. “He was really a lot of different things,” she said, citing his forays into other media like printmaking and textile design. “I see the textures, the use of colors.”

“It was really inspiring, that I was able to translate the textures to the fabric.”

In a speech, Fundacion Sansó director Ricky Francisco said, “In Happy Andrada, we found a kindred spirit. Like Sansó, Happy is an artist, whose work is deeply rooted in Filipino culture while remaining contemporary and internationally relevant.

“Throughout his life, Juvenal Sansó believed that art is integral, part of human life,” he said, explaining the partnership between the foundation and the designer.

The foundation has been known to partner with unorthodox bodies, such as bars, restaurants, and designers to showcase Mr. Sansó’s artwork. “For Sansó, creativity was not limited by discipline. It was a way of seeing and experiencing the world.” — Joseph L. Garcia