Runway show celebrates Ortiz’ 30 years
WELL-DRESSED guests got up to give couturier Randy Ortiz a standing ovation at his 30th anniversary show at The Peninsula Manila last week.
The entire spectacle took up the whole of The Pen’s conservatory and mezzanine, with an enviable guest list of mostly showbiz figures, with a political figure or two, and a handful of socialites thrown in for good measure. Mr. Ortiz is sometimes called a “designer to the stars” — one of his big breaks was meeting talent manager Douglas Quijano, who tasked Mr. Ortiz with dressing his stars.
Mr. Ortiz was no stranger to high-society circles, however: born the son of a local politico from Mindanao, the De La Salleeducated Randy got his start in fashion by partnering with rich girl Katrina Ponce Enrile in the late 1980s. His career took a turn on in the ’90s with a retail deal with the then popular brand Sari Sari, and then he went on to become the creative director of Myth.
For this show that summarized a career of 30 years, Mr. Ortiz showed collections that played off on his strengths: very fine embroidery, hyperfeminine silhouettes, and an adventurous take on men’s tailoring (for while Mr. Ortiz is known for his gowns, he began his career in design through menswear).
On the runway were the children of his former muses: the children of models Tweetie de Leon-Gonzales and Marina Benipayo, and Juliana Gomez, the daughter of his celebrity clients Lucy Torres-Gomez and Richard Gomez. Singer Ogie Alcasid and actor John Estrada also danced a little jig on the runway — Senator Nancy Binay, however, wasn’t on the runway (Mr. Ortiz once designed a particularly maligned dress for the senator).
Some of the favorites were velvet dinner jackets on the men and one embroidered with silver palm fronds. On the women, favorites were ballgowns with a dreamy floral pattern, almost like watercolors, a dress with an asymmetrical bodice that made the woman appear as if in one of the stages of undress, an immaculate white ballgown with a dimple near the navel, and a waistcoat placed over a jumpsuit with a ruffled lace bodice. The results of Mr. Ortiz’s work for this collection reflected his unapologetic vision and a mastery of draping and texture that showed dimension and substance. All of this appeared on the runway — a long one mind you — with orchestral renditions of Filipina diva hits and then romping 1970s disco bops.
Surrounded by a mob of well-wishers by the steps leading to the lobby, BusinessWorld asked Mr. Ortiz how he has stayed in fashion (in every sense of the phrase) for 30 years. “For me, it’s all about my love for it,” he said. “At the end of the day, I have so much discipline. I do my homework; I do my job. That is the essence of it all.”
As for what he has learned doing this job for 30 years, he said, “I just learned to say thank you... and by thanking everybody to this day makes a lot of difference.”
“Just go back to my clients. I don’t know about shows. I just want to celebrate. Maybe in five years, 10 years again — I don’t know yet. I just have to embrace everything that is happening now in my life,” he said, talking about what else he has to look forward to.
In this fickle world, both triumphs and troubles fade away like the foam on the surface of the sea. In the end, he says, “I just want to be remembered that I’ve done really nice dresses: beautiful dresses that made women feel good about themselves... I guess it’s all about that.” —