If there’s one thing that can be said about designer Cary Santiago, it’s his consistency. Whether it’s his painstaking attention to detail, his love for studied artifice or his desire to showcase movement in his designs, consistency is evident in all his fanciful creations.
This was immediately apparent at his Sept. 6 fashion show at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu. Santiago presented 53 designs, mostly women’s evening wear, along with several looks for dandies — men unafraid to stand out in a long, glittery zebra-print hoodie or a suit made of contrasting plaid patterns, antlered hat not included.
Santiago made his mark on fashion watchers over two decades ago with his eagle-inspired terno. “Pag-Asa (The Philippine Dream)” was his entry in the Philippine Fashion Design Competition in 2004. A closer inspection revealed the time and effort the designer had put into cutting, shaping and painting the jusi fabric to mimic eagle feathers. He would end up winning the grand prize in that competition.
It’s a testament to Santiago’s artistry that this particular dress was chosen as the cover of “The Terno: A Century of the Philippine Dress” by Gino Gonzales and Sandra Castro. The coffee table book published by Bench in partnership with Rizzoli New York will be available for preorder starting Oct. 20 at shop.bench.com.ph.
Expanded menagerie
Over the years, Santiago has expanded on this theme, constructing gowns molded to the body and often featuring a dreamlike range of fauna.
“I love plumage. I’ve always been fascinated with winged creatures, the way their feathers move when they’re in flight,” the designer told The Manila Times after his show.
Besides indulging in his penchant for all things of the avian persuasion, he also came up with an entire menagerie by twisting, folding and manipulating fabric to his specifications.
A chain mail-like bustier and matching skirt mimicked an animal’s hard carapace. Silver lizards clung to a strapless top paired with a long black skirt, and protective spikes ran down the back of a fitted top.
Extra-long fringe skimmed the floor or covered skirts, calling to mind the manes of wild horses, another recurring theme in the designer’s oeuvre.
During the pandemic, Santiago returned to his easel to work through the sadness he felt after the death of a close friend. On large stretched canvases, he painted galloping horses, their manes streaming behind them in the wind.
Varied textures, treatments
For his gala presented in partnership with Waterfront and Diagold jewelry, he developed pieces that looked like hammered steel or beaten gold. The collection included sculptural tops in dark velvet molded to the body, metallic fringed skirts, and golden armor designed to look like a snake’s scales or crocodile skin.
Santiago also showed off his mastery of fabric, as airy designs emerged among the structured pieces, made of tiers of scallop-edged organza. Most impressive was a black cloak with a high neck and matching skirt, and the full-skirted bridal gown that closed the show.
This was not the first time the designer has presented this collection. He admitted that while 90 percent of the pieces were first shown at his Manila gala last year, he was prevailed upon by his regular Cebuano clients —“mga madame,” he quipped — to stage it in Cebu as well.
That’s another thing about Santiago. He is fiercely loyal to his clients, whose support has kept him and his 20-odd staff in business for decades. In return, he continues to give them the meticulous craftsmanship, theatricality and unmistakable imagination they have come to expect.