LOS ANGELES — The Philippine Consulate General and the Filipino-American Community in Los Angeles (FACLA) will celebrate Filipino-American History Month with a commemorative dinner and cultural fashion show on Saturday, October 16, 2021, at the Church of the Scientology of the Valley in North Hollywood.
In a statement, Consul General Edgar Badajos said, “this event is part of the Consulate General’s mandate of promoting the Philippines and its culture in its jurisdiction, where more than 1.3 million Filipinos live, the largest in the United States, as well as partnering with Filipino-American associations in organizing activities aimed at educating the public about our community’s contributions to American society.”
The highlight of the event is a cultural fashion show dubbed, “Ani” (Harvest), which will feature traditional Filipino fabrics integrated into high fashion pieces and wearable creations by Philippine-based fashion designers Jhay Layson, Laura Concepcion Santos and Edwin Uy. These designers are stalwarts of the Philippines’ biggest fashion-designers guild, the Designers Circle Philippines. The show is under the direction of renowned Filipino pageant and fashion show director, Concon Siñel.
According to Siñel, “Ani” also features a kaleidoscope of everything that is beautiful about the Philippines: its original music, colorful and vibrant dances, its magnificent destinations and the best in contemporary fashion.
Assisting Siñel is Manila-based events maven Jerome Malate, who is the show’s runway director. The event will be covered by ABS-CBN International and LA-based community publication, Asian Journal.
About the designers
In their special fashion collection produced for this event, the featured designers incorporated various indigenous textiles from different parts of the Philippines — from to the intricately patterned fabrics of Luzon and Visayas to the brightly colored weaves of Mindanao – into their creations to create a modern look that is both chic and fashion-forward.
Jhay Layson
This young Filipino womenswear and menswear designer combines an exuberant vision to fabrics and silhouettes with a carefree yet gentle approach to femininity.
Layson, who is also the Founder and Creative Director of TCMI International, a modelling academy, creates his collection by drawing his inspiration from the works of Filipino masters in visual art, whose depiction of local color are unmodified and undistorted.
Prior to the global pandemic, in 2019, he spent several fashion seasons touring his collections in the Filipino communities in the U.S. (particularly Houston, Beaumont, Austin, Cheyenne and Los Angeles) and in Europe (Rome, Kristiansand, Madrid and Paris) – as well as fashion weeks in Manhattan, Bangkok and the Philippines.
Laura Santos
Fast-rising designer Laura Santos established her fashion-design career in 2014, creating gowns for brides and the entire bridal entourage.
Santos is the granddaughter of “Don Juan” Santos, the founder of Glenmore Shoes, a well-respected Filipino shoe brand famous in the 1960s through the 1980s. Glenmore was renowned for its handcrafted leather shoes, boots and accessories.
After several years of designing wedding gowns, 2021 saw Santos entering the ready-to-wear market. This is the result of her newfound vision to pay homage to Filipino culture, while preserving the distinctive identity for which her designs have been known. Using homegrown textiles from Philippine indigenous hand-woven fabrics (such as ramit, yakan, inabel and t’nalak) as accents for her prêt-à-porter collection, Laura fuses her minimalist style with boho chic.
Edwin Uy
An award-winning fashion designer of Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish descent, Edwin holds a degree in Mathematics from the Philippines’ University of the East before taking his place in the fashion industry.
Uy has created a name for himself in the Philippine fashion industry because of his beautiful and unique ensembles. He balances creativity and wearability, qualities that make his creations very appealing to women.
Aside from his bridal and evening wear collections, Uy is also known for his versatility as a couturier, creating fabulous show-stopping costumes. His works have been used by top artists and celebrities in their major concerts and special events. His national costumes for innumerable pageant candidates have reaped countless “best in national costume” awards in the Philippines and in international pageants. n
