MANILA, Philippines ? For some, the global downturn has been an opportunity more than blight. This can?t be truer for Robin Tomas.

Early this year, the New York-trained fashion designer decided to come home and launch his label on his first solo show at Philippine Fashion Week on May 30.

Tomas, 32, was a freelance designer contracted by J. Crew for its menswear and boys? wear lines for two years. Before that, he was with Gap International, also for two years, creating menswear for the Japanese and European markets.

When Gap closed its international design division, the young man worked briefly at Tommy Hilfiger.

?It was slowing down in the US, so I took it as opportunity,? he says. ?I thought maybe I should try it at home. Logistically it?s so much easier, and the labor cheaper...My mom is very happy I?m here. I think she?s been itching for me to have a show. Sorry na lang, Mommy, at ?di pa sa New York [Sorry, Mommy. It?s not in New York yet],? he adds with a guffaw. ?It takes a lot of time and money.?

?Mom? is veteran actress-TV host Tessie Tomas, who, like her only son, was an advertising executive.

Passion

Before bidding his mom goodbye in 2001, Tomas, a University of the Philippines Fine Arts graduate, worked for two years as art director in a major advertising firm. (?I miss the people; I don?t miss the work,? he now says.)

In New York City, he studied at Parsons School of Design, serving as intern simultaneously at Anna Sui and Valentino.

?I?ve [mostly] always worked in menswear, but my passion is women?s wear,? he says, though he incorporated several men?s pieces in his 45-piece holiday collection for Fashion Week.

Tomas describes his look as ?very New York, very ?Sex and the City.? My woman is not dainty-dainty. She?s very cosmopolitan, well-traveled and unapologetic about being chic. She exudes confidence without being threatening...My clothes can be very sexy. It?s about unleashing the Madonna in you. I want you to feel fierce when you wear my clothes.?

Tomas came home with bolts of lush fabrics from New York, buying more on a recent trip to India. He describes some of the ?tropical holiday?-themed clothes as ?heavily embellished.?

?It?s for the show. The beadwork! I can never do that in the States!?

He has set up his workshop in Malate, working full-time with four seamstresses, doing his own cutting and most of his patterns. So far, his mom has been his only client.

?She has very masculine tastes,? he says of his mother. ?I grew up with some shirts missing from my closet. Mas baliw siya, more daring. I?m more classic and restrained.?

Tentative plans

Tomas? career plans are quite tentative, depending on how his collection is received. He plans to bring his ?edited? collection to New York next month, though he?s also giddy at the thought of selling in a ?prestigious store like Adora or Rustan?s; I just don?t know how to go about it.?

?I?m very open to going back and forth. There are designers who are happy working at Gap. But I want to have my own [label]. I don?t know at this point if Robin Tomas will become big or if I?ll go back working for a brand. As they say, you?re only as good as your last collection, so I?m very open.?

He says, ?On an emotional level, it?s very important for me to do my first show here, to show what I?ve learned and experienced. I?m from here, my family and friends are here.?

Then he adds, chuckling, ?Just like Madonna who always does the first night [of a concert tour] in Michigan where she?s from.?