Paul Cabral’s “maria clara” with “piña” top and hand embroidered neckline and diaphanous skirt for First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos (From IG lizaaranetamarcos)
Paul Cabral now chuckles at the memory of how last year, he was almost having a panic attack after it was announced that he would have a show—his first solo collection ever—supposedly at the grand Goldenberg Mansion in the vicinity of Malacañang.
“Na tense ako,” he tells us last Tuesday afternoon in his atelier, now busy with a video shoot for his gala show on February 27 to be held in the former Laperal Mansion in San Miguel, Manila, a stone’s throw away from Malacañang Palace.
“I couldn’t think of anything. I’d get a headache every time I held a sketchpad or watched fashion shows on YouTube. That was when I realized that perhaps it wasn’t time for me to do the show.”
Paul decided not to push through with his show last September.
This afternoon, however, during this interview, Paul seems so lighthearted about his forthcoming show, his first gala, featuring more than 70 ensembles. We are in his atelier in Quezon City, an elegant post-war two-story home, with a cathedral ceiling in the living room and a stairway of wrought iron balustrade, the old Velayo house. A video crew is busy directing Paul, as stylist Michael Salientes and First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos’ makeup artist Patrick Rosas chat with us. Patrick is the driving force behind the series of fashion shows in the restored mansions around the Palace—private shows mounted through private sponsorships raised by the featured designers and their friends.
Paul Cabral at his work desk (Photo by TheDiarist.ph)
Patrick is telling us how late last year, even if he didn’t push through with the September show, Paul had a major part of the collection ready, only to discard many of it and make new ones. That is how Paul is giving this gala his all; his atelier has been closed this past month or so to devote itself full-time to the collection.
“Finally now, lakas ng loob (guts)! I realize I am now ready to have a show,” he says.
One day way before the pandemic I dropped by Paul’s bustling atelier, and while waiting for him, reviewed the racks of barong ready for pick-up by clients, with name tags attached. I told Paul that reading the name tags alone was like reviewing the Who’s Who in Philippine politics, business and industry. Name the business or political bigwig, his barong was there. Of course, as the world knew, he did the barong of then President Benigno Aquino, III, and way before that, of then President Joseph Estrada.
Then President Benigno Aquino III in a Paul Cabral “barong” at the APEC in Manila in 2015 (Photo by T. Sioson)
Then President Joseph Estrada at his Barasoain inaugural (Cropped from photo by Edwin Tuyay, AP/ EPA PHOTO POOL)
Today, asked if his collection will hew to any theme, he says, “When I design, I remember the advice given me in my early years: Don’t think of something avant-garde, stick to your strong points, like the perfect fit of a dress, and work around that.”
Therefore, the February gala will present the Paul Cabral who, the past 20 years or so, has built a power clientele—real people, not fashion runway people. “I’ve been making clothes for real women and real men,” he says, “people who don’t necessarily have perfect proportions.”
The fashion industry concedes that Paul’s strength is the consistent ability to achieve that flawless or nearly flawless fit—the result of good fitting and what Paul himself describes as the keen attention to details.
That is what Paul wants to showcase in his forthcoming collection—“that when you see the clothes on parade, you can say, now that’s for me, ako yan, kaya ko yan,” he says quite specifically.
What he wants is for the audience to relate to the runway collection—“Usually, people can’t relate to a runway show,” he says.
To that relatability, he adds the aesthetic.
There is another binding element in the collection—his use and innovation of piña.
“I decided to do this show also to help promote our native fabric, the piña, given its dying industry and that communities of artisans depend on it for their livelihood,” he says.
“My challenge is how to elevate piña from the basic design or use. We’re used to it in maria clara. This time, I try different design treatments, like giving it an eye-catching lining. We’re doing the honeycomb pleating on piña—an innovation that has never been done.”
He’s combining piña’s natural hue with the reds or the yellows through the dye treatment, or mixing piña with the elegant taffeta, Swiss lace.
An excitement he didn’t expect yet now experiencing is his work with models for the collection. “I never did clothes with 24-inch waists. Now it’s all that, and it’s inspiring,” he says.
Paul has been designing and making clothes for made-to-order clientele for about 20 years. He was shoved into the local fashion radar after he designed the barong with the now-iconic Barasoain church embroidery of then President Joseph “Erap” Estrada for his inauguration at the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan.
“It was Erap who gave me the idea of designing and doing my own embroidery, instead of merely using what was readily available. That was a eureka moment for me,” he recalls.
For the presidential inaugural at Rizal Park, he made for then First Lady Dra. Loi Ejercito Estrada a maria clara with skirt of hablon pattern underneath gold Chantilly lace.
For the wedding of presidential daughter Jackie Ejercito, Paul did the ensembles of the groom Beaver Lopez and his entourage, while Paul’s good friend, Joe Salazar, did the resplendent bridal gown. (Paul and the late Joe Salazar seemed to have had a close association, to hear Paul say it. Paul recalls how Joe would ask him to do the bridal entourage sometimes, as the former did the bride gown. After the death of Joe Salazar, Joe’s sewer and one staff came to work for Paul—not before, as some gossip wags in an intrigue-ridden fashion industry said, insinuating piracy.)
That introduction to the A-list gave Paul a formidable hold on a power clientele, be it in politics, no matter the political administration, or in the entertainment industry. Among his close friends in showbiz are Vice Ganda, Judy Ann Santos, Lorna Tolentino, and his best friend of 30 years, Andrea Revilla Ynares (of the political clan of Rizal).
Private Citizen Cory Aquino—or PCCA, as the icon of democracy was known after her historic administration—became a regular client and eventually a friend, after daughter Kris introduced Paul to her mother.
Paul became the trusted barong designer of many, if not most, of the top Filipino businessmen and industrialists. Apart from relying on their body measurements, this former Accounting major would study photos or videos of these bigwigs to arrive at the suitable design and perfect fit.
He would be as, if not more, meticulous, with the women’s clothes. “One must be matiyaga (patient), and pay attention to details. Pag-aralan ang katawan (study the body), ang bagsak ng damit (fall of the dress on the body), and fit.”
His following grew by word of mouth—he hardly grants interviews and eschews publicity. It’s been said that Paul takes pride in the fact that he and his staff get the right fit only after one fitting. That’s how dressing up real women and men became one of his avowed strengths.
The pandemic saw Paul’s staff of 50 shrink to a skeletal force because his atelier shut down for a year and six months.
In post-pandemic years, however, not only was Paul able to bounce back, he, unwittingly perhaps, also gained the best calling card any designer could have: dressing up the First Lady Lisa Araneta Marcos—for some occasions.
The First Lady in blue suit with integrated floral design by Paul Cabral worn at the audience with Japan royalty at Asean meet (Photo from IG lizamarcos)
Detailed shot of long dress worn by First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos at the royal Brunei wedding (Photo from Patrick Rosas)
People first noted how elegantly and regally the First Lady was dressed when she wore the fragrant blue terno to the coronation of King Charles in London. The design, from the fit to the proportion, was impressive and fit for the wife of the president.
The recent elegant designs were the maria clara worn at the recent vin d’honneur at the Palace, and in the Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit at the audience with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.
Paul is particularly proud of the tailored suit worn at this audience with Japan royalty. With the flower integrated in the bodice by hand, not appliquéd, it was meticulous craftmanship.
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What explains his good track record in dressing up Philippine presidents and their first ladies?
“First, I seek their comfort level,” he says about how he makes the first ladies feel at home. “I find out in what clothes they’re comfortable in, from the neckline to the length. Then we follow protocol, from the choice of color to what the occasion calls for.”
Indeed after more than two decades of staying behind the scenes, literally, in the corridors of power, Paul Cabral is taking his bow. No jitters, this time.
