MANILA, Philippines—With one look, you know that these students love drama. The clothes in the workshop of the Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) department of the DLSU College of St. Benilde’s School of Design and Arts are clearly not for the faint-hearted. A gown made of champagne-colored embossed satin is draped over a desk; beside it lies a steel-gray dress with numerous folds and tucks—the craftsmanship is exquisite. On a mannequin is an animal-print skirt paired with a green corset top.
The workshop is filled with clothes that burst with colors and textures. Some of them recall the Harajuku style of dressing, with numerous layers and embellishments of every kind—sequins, lace, faux pearls. Others are more minimal, but there is still a clear sense of drama in the style; you can almost imagine a movie star wearing the clothes to an awards night.
It’s not difficult to spot the inspiration for the clothes, as the whiteboard in the workshop is filled with fashion’s iconic names: YSL, Prada, Valentino, Givenchy. But despite the clear preference for attention-catching clothes, you know that the designs are not entirely unwearable. Minus a sprinkling of beads here, or a couple of inches added to the hemline, it’s easy to imagine the clothes on any ordinary person, and not just on movie stars.
“We teach our students to be designers, not just artists,” said Mitali Goswami, chair of the FDM department. “Success as a designer is measured by how much you sell, so it’s important for us to let the students know that there is so much to their course than just drawing clothes.”
Goswami added, “However, we allow our students to explore as much as they can. College is the best place for experimentation, and our faculty is here to let the students know everything about the industry.”
And what a faculty it is—the FDM students learn from some of the industry’s best designers, such as Gerry Katigbak, Inno Sotto, and Eric Pineda, among others.
“As much as possible, we want our faculty to be immersed in their respective fields, so when they impart their knowledge to their students, what they teach teach is always fresh, always current,” said Arch. Gerry Torres, Dean of the School of Design and Arts.
Aside from being challenged by top designers, the school also makes sure that its students are thrown into competitions to test their mettle. “It’s a must that they join competitions,” Goswami said. “In fact, Ralph Ng, one of our students this year, is going to Beijing to represent the country in the Triumph design competition.”
Torres added, “We make sure that we foster an atmosphere of competitiveness in the school. We advertise competitions and scholarships abroad so our students can see that there are plenty of opportunities for them, and that they should aspire to be with the best.”
Although both the college and course are fairly young (the program is only 12 years old), many of the students are already visible in the field. Many FDM students work in local and international retail brands as merchandisers and buyers, while others under designers such as Frederick Peralta.
While the program isn’t as firmly entrenched as say, University of the Philippine’s Clothing Technology course, Torres and Goswami firmly believe in their students. They pointed out that FDM program has an edge over other fashion schools.
“Our program isn’t a mere diploma course,” Goswami explained. “It’s a bachelor’s degree program, and our advantage is that we have strong linkages in other academic institutions abroad.”
Torres said, “We have partnerships in other major universities in Sydney, the United Kingdom, Paris and New Zealand.”
“But that aside, what sets us apart from the others is that we seem to draw so many creative students,” Goswami said. “Every year, I’m amazed by their creativity. There’s so much raw talent, and we make sure that we guide them in order to fulfill their potential.”
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