Filipino designers are putting their stamp on the global fashion industry. Their designs, often flawless and combining sublime elegance and allure, are just the thing women with sophisticated tastes are looking for.
And Dubai-based Filipino haute couture designer Michael Cinco is the face the fashion world seems fixated on at the moment. Ever since he made his Paris Haute Couture Week debut this year, which set the runway on fire, his popularity has soared.
Cinco’s fascination with movies was what catapulted him into fashion. “Way back in my hometown in Samar, Philippines, my childhood years were mostly spent watching Hollywood movies. I remember being mesmerized by Audrey Hepburn, wearing fabulous clothes in ‘My Fair Lady’. That wonderful feeling engulfed my heart and soul completely. It was then that I made up my mind to go straight into fashion,” he said.
As part of his dream journey to become a fashion designer, he took the first step by enrolling at the University of the Philippines Diliman, a well-established institution in his country, where he studied fine arts. He then embarked on a fashion design course at Slim’s Fashion and Arts School in the Philippines. Since he needed to gain first-hand knowledge of how dresses are created and how to do it, he went on to work for some of the most famous names in the Philippines fashion industry, before moving to Dubai in 1997.
The moment Cinco arrived, he realized the Middle East was a jackpot when it came to lucrative possibilities for a couture revolution, especially if nurtured with precision. With this goal in mind, for four years he gave his time and energy to a fashion house in Dubai. The efforts gave a new lease of life to how fashion was seen across the region.
While Dubai was inching toward making a name for itself as a fashion hub, Cinco was restlessly looking for more innovative ideas. “In 2002, this inner thirst took me to Paris and London where I experienced the vibrant side of fashion and gained new ideas,” he said. Both the old and new vibes of London appealed to Cinco and led him to join Central Saint Martins college, which is renowned for its fashion courses.
Now reinvigorated with many ideas to transform the fashion scene in the region, he made his way back to Dubai and launched his eponymous couture label in 2003.
The success of the Michael Cinco brand stems from the designer’s desire to always take in what’s new, relevant and beautiful and put a fresh spin on it. Many of the fabrics he uses are his own creations. “I love to keep myself up-to-date,” he said. “And therefore, what I do stands out.”
In his view, a woman’s figure is without doubt the talking point. He cares most about how the woman carries the dress no matter what her size. “Any woman who rightfully demands a Michael Cinco dress is nothing but perfect for it,” he said.
Muses that stir his imagination
These beautiful couture dresses take shape thanks to his numerous inspirations: the beauty of the nature that surrounds him, including its flaws, and the joys and pains of living and, mostly, loving.
But the women Cinco dresses are his real muses. “I look up to all of them because they have got the taste to go with their money,” Cinco said.
Many are high-profile celebrities who lust after his designer gowns which greatly augment their sophistication. And this impressive list includes Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Mila Kunis, Christina Aguilera, Nicole Scherzinger, Kylie Minogue, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton and Sofia Vergara. “There is one person I would definitely love to join the list and she is none other than the one and only Angelina Jolie,” Cinco said.
There is no reason for Cinco to doubt that the right celebrity endorsement adds to the designer’s enormous following on social media. “And it’s the same with a satisfied client’s endorsement, which brings in more clients down the line,” Cinco said.
The collection that he presented at Paris Haute Couture Week in July was inspired by his Filipino heritage amid the beauty and grandeur of the Jardin des Tuileries.
“At present, the Michael Cinco brand is gearing up to expand its business globally,” he said of his future plans.
“Couturissimo, the marketing arm of Asian Couture Federation — of which I’m a founding member — takes care of its prêt-a-porter lines’ online distribution which will eventually sell them in stores worldwide. But haute couture will always be the closest to my heart.”
After all, haute couture is the be-all and end-all of fashion for him. “Designing it is my bread and butter,” he said. “I breathe it. It’s all I want to do.”
Source: Arab news