CARY SANTIAGO

FASHION DESIGNER

“BEING GLOBAL IS PLACING ONE’S SELF IN AN OCEAN INSTEAD OF AN AQUARIUM: THINKING INTERNATIONALLY AND WITHOUT BORDERS.”

Genius sartorial artisan Cary Santiago’s exquisite creations— from out-of-this-world plating, laser cuts, sculptures, foaming, to innovative doily works—only speak so much of him. Cary, was a bit squeamish at first about having his photo taken for MEGA, saying that it was his job to make other people look beautiful and rarely the other way around.

Trained by his mother at a young age, Cary began working in an RTW company in Cebu at 16. He then step foot in Dubai at 24, and moved to Beirut, the fashion capital of the Middle East and home to acclaimed international designers Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad, to design for a fellow designer’s atelier. “Travelling opens doors for you, and gives you the chance to observe and work with other artisans,” he explains.

Cary’s signature style comes from his fascination with winged creatures such as birds and butterflies. To him they represent freedom and living with no boundaries. In 2004, for the Philippine Fashion Design Competition, he designed a unique terno inspired by the Philippine eagle “Pag-asa.” It was composed of thousands of jusi pieces mounted on actual quills to appear as eagle feathers. The symbolic and well-thought design eventually won him the grand prize. Cary Santiago was also honored as the International Designer of the Year at the China Fashion Awards in 2010 alongside International Model of the Year Carolina Korkova.

“You become more competitive and creative when you think global,” Cary shares. To him, when a design is global, there is no distinction about its origins because the style is not solely from a certain place. What one should distinguish in a global design is the designer himself. As for the future, Cary prefers to keep the horizon open, “I’m always competing with myself and always looking for the next big technique.” Like his designs, Cary knows no boundaries.—CT