DESIGNER PROFILE
Patricia Santos redefines sustainability by putting value to every PS Officiel creation
One-time MEGA Young Designer finalist Patricia Santos reimagines green couture
Becoming a notable fashion designer is quite a challenging feat especially in an industry full of multi-talented and creative couturiers. Every year, a new set of designers spring from the top design schools around the world or find their path as design ingénues. But what separates the greats from the rest is the tenacity to keep going and a mind that seeks both learning and innovation. Patricia Santos proves that she has both.
But the journey to where she is now has not been easy. With only a capital of P30,000 and a sewing machine, she started her design journey right after graduating from a college design course. Soon, she joined MEGA Young Designers Competition and her career took off. “I started from the bottom. For a few years I had to do everything on my own, from buying the fabrics to sewing the dresses. As my clientele grew, my atelier blossomed as well,” she says. It was a quick growth for her brand, which is reflective of the effective aesthetic that her clients gravitate towards. Feminine frocks with hand beaded details and sensual cuts, women came back to her needing their next statement piece for major events around the city. From her sister’s garage in Quezon city, the Patricia Santos Atelier’s home is now in the middle of the hustling and bustling Bonifacio Global City.
Together with the growth of her brand came challenges: one being her battle with thyroid cancer. But knowing the tenacity and courage of a woman like Patricia Santos, these tests were no match for her. After her second neck surgery last year, she opened up with a bright smile on her Instagram post. “I’m so looking forward to the day that I could say that I got through it! This is definitely just another bump in the road. I will definitely come back stronger after this because I have a lot more to give! Nothing can dim the light from within!” the caption read. It was this same positive outlook that emboldened her when she faced the challenges of creating a sustainable label. “It all started with this young designer I met earlier this year. I
“KNOW THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK. IF YOU KNOW THE VALUE OF EVERY PIECE YOU MAKE, YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO KEEP WEARING YOUR ONE-OF-A-KIND CREATIONS”
was looking for someone to start my RTW line and be my right hand for the project. She opened up the possibilities for our brand to be sustainable. And I do think that it’s about time that we get into the business of sustainability here in the Philippines,” she shares. Her readyto-wear brand was soon launched and boasted of pieces that are very much connected to her main line, but created with organic fabrics that are locally sourced like linen, organic silk chiffon and stock fabrics. The pieces are also made-to-order just to prevent non-moving stock in the atelier. With a beautiful first collection, Patricia Santos achieved a new phase in her mission for sustainability when celebrities loved their pieces enough to re-wear the looks and even share it to their friends to wear.
Sustainability in her couture line started when she realized the accumulation of dresses in her atelier. “I had so many dresses! And sayang siya if hindi na magagamit kasi madami na raw nagsuot.
So I thought of repurposing all the pieces and make new creations from these old gowns.” Not known to many, her latest collection made in partnership with Galerie Joaquin were mostly repurposed dresses that she breathed new life into. From cutting lengths to transferring thousands of Swarovski crystals, Patricia Santos is all about sustainable innovation.
The designer has been through a lot, but every time she rises like a phoenix and still remains to be just as humble and very much as passionate and creative as she was before. And as she opens the door of sustainable design to younger designers, her only advice is “Know the value of your work. If you know the value of every piece you make, you will always find a way for people to keep wearing your one-of-a-kind creations.”