In 10th grade, I had to choose a National Artist to report about. Obvs., I chose Ramon Valera, the only National Artist of the Philippines for Fashion.
I was impressed with the work I was able to scrounge up online but I wasn’t in awe. And I didn’t know I wasn’t in awe until I actually saw his work.
It was p h e n o m e n a l. His technique was inventive and clever, the attention to detail was astounding!
The photos were taken at the Ramon Valera opening night exhibit in CSB (College of Saint Benilde). I got to attend opening night because my art teacher invited me (i love her). The theme was Modernism and there were bits of his story written on the walls, quotes and so on.
I think the exhibit was great but I’m naught but a fashion enthusiast so my judgement is moot. Luckily, the people attending the event were professionals (not naming names but there were some big names) and I could see they loved it so you can take it from them.
Sadly, the exhibit’s only open till October 2017 (This is such a late post, sorry)(petition to have another exhibit? :D).
Weddings
Formal wear
Fun fact # 1 : butterfly sleeves are a symbol of emancipation. It started when Filipino women were able to go to college in 1908 so it’s like a power suit. Parallel to us, America got into pantsuits because in the 1950s a lot of women gained jobs.
Still formal wear but without the butterfly sleeves and more colourful:
Fun fact # 2 : Fashion is such a great indicator of the times! Valera’s time was shortly after the war so the Philippines craved something fun, modern and, admittedly, excessive (after all, economy was thriving then so why not).
P.s. – kudos to Valera for identifying what filipinos wanted and acting on it #goals
Illustrations
Fun fact # 3 : @all those wanna-be designers who can’t draw. Valera couldn’t draw, or he didn’t want to, so he described what he wanted to his go-to guy. I read this on a plaque so I can’t remember the name of the illustrator. I can’t seem to find it online either. If you know, do tell.
I’m posting this because I got a fire burning in my soul after attending that exhibit. I started reading up and I wanted to share the 3 most fun facts I could find. Those^ aren’t it. But I really wanted to share those so too bad. If you want to know the much nicer facts that I didn’t include here, then you’ll just have to click the link at the bottom of this post.
Also, in 10th grade, the photographic records of Valera’s work was kind of shady. Here’s my token to those other kids who need to write a paper about him 😀
I got something wrong? Want to share your own fact? Pls tell me: comment or something I love learning 😀
xoxo,
Bithia
Curious about the Philippines’ national artist but hate research? I’ve got you covered:
Intro to his life and work (This is the link I was telling you to click) — I tried to find the shortest, most accurate article about him. This includes the important bits except the fact that if he didn’t like the garment, even if he’s almost done, he’s willing to restart from scratch.
If you want to know about the terno (its importance especially) and the fact that Valera didn’t invent it –— read this. Not as short as the above but a good read.
bithia 