LOS ANGELES?Oliver Tolentino, the Filipino designer who is making inroads on the Hollywood fashion scene, sewed up another stronghold when he drew a standing ovation last Saturday evening as designer of the week in Palm Springs? Fashion Week El Paseo 2011.

Given the top slot in a week of fashion shows in California?s desert area?known as the winter playground of stars from Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope to today?s A-listers?Oliver wowed the crowd packed in a big white tent at El Paseo, a posh shopping district in Palm Desert.

Seated beside us was Filipino-American actress Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, who smiled upon hearing Levi Celerio and Juan Silos Jr.?s ?Galawgaw,? her legendary grandma Sylvia La Torre?s trademark song. It had been remixed for use as part of the runway music that LA?s top models glided to.

Anna, who often wears Oliver?s creations at red carpet events, looked extra lovely in the designer?s Tiffany blue dress made of piña fabric.

We couldn?t be prouder to be Filipino that evening in California?s famed desert region. Here was Oliver being given the finale event in the week-long schedule (well-known US designer Trina Turk presented her collection the night before). Palm Springs? fashion crowd applauded virtually each of his elegant ensembles in piña and abaca.

Filipino music

With his business advisor, Andrew Caruthers, Oliver picked Filipino songs for the music, including Eartha Kitt?s version of ?Waray-Waray? (also composed by Silos and Celerio), that worked wonderfully with a remix by Boom Dayupay, formerly of the band Kulay.

Then there was Tutay Maristela-Fasano, Oliver?s muse, who opened each of the show?s segments. The ritzy crowd, which included Turk, loved Tutay?s dramatic flair, including her backward bend a la Pilita Corrales.

?Drama!?

The Filipina supermodel later told us of her much-applauded grand walk: ?I asked Oliver what he wanted me to do in that wedding gown. He answered, ?Drama!??

Oliver, wearing his own cream suit made of abaca, came out with Tutay at the end of the show to see for himself a crowd cheering on its feet. ?I was overwhelmed,? said the 2010 Oscars Designer Challenge finalist.

He considered the standing ovation as recognition of our native fabrics, too. ?I want to make piña and abaca popular fabrics in fashion so that our industries in Lumban and Aklan will thrive and the skills will be passed down to the next generation,? Oliver explained.

Eco-friendly trend

Andrew Caruthers, the business advisor, said Oliver?s passion to promote Filipino fabrics jibes well with the eco-friendly fashion trend. Andrew recounted: ?When Oliver had a show in the Bahamas and won the sustainable eco fashion award last October, the fashion dean of Parsons School in New York told me that he spoke several times a week on sustainable fashion. I was so proud for Oliver and the Philippines when the dean said he had never heard of piña or abaca until Oliver showed him the fabrics. He was so impressed that he photographed them and posted the pictures on his web page.?

Celeb clients

?One Tree Hill? actress Sophia Bush recently wore one of Oliver?s ?green? outfits to a red carpet event. Other celebs who have been seen in his creations are Grammy nominees Kelly Price and Macy Gray, and ?Glee?s? Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley.

Coming up with a 60-plus collection for El Paseo was extra challenging for Oliver because it coincided with the Hollywood awards season, which saw several of his gowns making a splash at the Golden Globes and the Oscars. The Orani, Bataan, native?s dresses have been lucky for a couple of personalities?Niecy Nash won a creative Emmy for producing ?Clean House? while Tatyana Ali of ?The Young and the Restless? nabbed an image award for best actress in a daytime drama series. ?My production staff worked very hard on the El Paseo designs for four months,? Oliver said.

Asked about the inspired use of Sylvia La Torre and Eartha Kitt?s songs for the show, Oliver replied, ?Andrew and I came up with the idea. Andrew is American but believes strongly in Filipino talent. We wanted everyone to know that I?m a proud Filipino. We also wanted to surprise our guest, Anna Maria?her grandmother is such a lovely person.?

Remixing the songs

Oliver admitted, though, that ?it wasn?t as simple as just playing the songs. They were slow and the versions we found were mono. Boom had to speed them up and add a beat so that they could be used for the runway.?

Boom, reached via e-mail in Vancouver, Canada, was glad to hear the good feedback about his remix. The multi-talented artist wrote that he had been in the middle of directing TV shows but that he and his wife Angel were excited to help Oliver. He said it made him appreciate Filipino music even more. He added, ?My kids enjoyed hearing really ?old school? music with a new flavor.?

Anna Maria?s parents, Artie (Sylvia?s son and a former actor) and Evelyn, were also glad to hear the veteran entertainer?s singing voice as the models, which included Filipino-American Michelle de Leon, strutted on the ramp. Of Anna, Oliver said, ?She?s someone to watch?a talented singer, dancer and actor.?

Success story

Could she imagine herself wearing the show?s dresses and gowns, we asked Anna Maria. ?Yes!? she exclaimed and then quickly clarified, ?But not the wedding gowns. I?m too young to get married.?

Oliver?s rise on the US fashion scene in less than two years is an inspiring success story. We asked Andrew how Oliver got invited to El Paseo?s as designer of the week. ?We were approached out of the blue about a year ago,? said Andrew. ?Oliver?s Melrose Avenue shop hadn?t even been open for a year, so we were surprised. Once they told us how they cover everything for a 600-plus-person gala, we asked how they heard of Oliver. The organizer said they had done their research and had been hearing about Oliver for a long time. For a recently arrived Filipino designer, it was almost like winning the lottery.?

Andrew said that among the guests who trooped to the white tent?which the organizers pointed out was larger than what is used in New York Fashion Week at Bryant Park?were Lisa Smith and her husband, T. Baker Smith, a partner with Accenture Consulting, one of the largest foreign employers in the Philippines. The Smiths have hosted trunk shows for Oliver in New York for Manhattan socialites. Also gracing the El Paseo affair was Consul General Mary Jo Aragon.

A standout among the guests was an American woman in a striking ensemble who could give Tessa Prieto-Valdes serious competition. Andrew said the woman insisted on coming to Oliver?s hotel suite the next day to purchase several pieces. ?In that meeting,? Andrew said, ?she surprised Oliver by telling him she cried twice while watching the collection because she was so moved by the art in some of the outfits.?

Erin Weinger, writing for Palm Springs Life magazine, gave this verdict on Oliver?s show and his use of piña and abaca in contemporary styles: ?Judging by his well-rounded, cohesive collection of ladies-who-lunch-worthy goods, he clearly succeeded. It?s safe to say the next major desert social function will get a bit of Tolentino?s modernized touch, too.?

Oliver celebrated his successful show in the desert by dancing the night away at the after-party at the Ace Hotel.

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.