TheDiarist.ph published a prelude to Dennis Lustico’s ‘Pamana’ show at the Goldenberg Mansion a few weeks ago, but we were still unprepared for the exceptional craftsmanship in the collection.
The show, which Lustico said had “exclusively-designed and woven piña from Aklan, cotton and silk from La Union, cotton from Benguet, and embroidery from Laguna, Bulacan, and Aklan,” began with angular shapes on blouses and skirts. You instantly noticed the loose threads hanging off the middle of skirts and their hems, as if unwoven from large swatches of fabric. The effect was feathery and thick, like a bunch of threads had come loose. The technique later covered entire blouses and skirts, in perfect motion with the wind as the models walked.
Elevated technique was the main attribute in each look, from the kalabasa-leaf cutouts sewn on outfits to the painstakingly cut and sewn square pieces of fabric that adorned some looks. You could tell that each of the 50 items in the collection had been worked on with levels of skill and sophistication not often seen in shows today. “What exceptional fabric manipulation and detailing!” exclaimed a veteran fashion editor after the show.
“This is the costliest collection we have ever worked on,” said Lustico. This fact made sense if you considered all the fabric, the details, and the hands needed to craft the designs.
The looks were playful, down to a metallic pants and shirt look on a male model whose geometrical sewn-in bib aptly matched the accessories hanging from either side of his face. The look was part-tribal, part hip-hop, and very modern. There was a light air in the ensembles of the women; everything felt fun and fresh despite the intricate embroidery and obvious craftsmanship. This was no easy feat—an absolute seriousness in technique paired with light-hearted looks that portrayed play and whimsy.
The collection was also abundantly Filipino, not just in terms of fabric and its obvious hand-craftsmanship, but also in the way it moved and felt: happy and celebratory.
“The inspiration came from the very essence of our country’s art, that everything is done with passion by the masterful hands of Filipinos who live mostly in the countryside, that every product or piece of art is influenced by the abundant and beautiful nature of our archipelago,” Lustico said about the collection.
What’s next for the prolific designer, whose talent and almost three decades in the industry have made him one of the best? “This collection is a culmination of 25 years of my design journey and the start of continuing lessons for the following years,” Lustico said. “A pit stop is what comes to mind if we compare it to reality television. So, it is both looking back and preparing for the future.”
