A famous portrait of Cecil Beaton features the classic gowns by Charles James

The style or mode of how fashion is photographed has gone a long way from my membership days of the now-defunct Philippine Couture Association to the manner it is now.

Most memorable to me were the series of pretty and sensible portraits of ladies clad in haute couture gowns via the long running “Modess Because” layouts promoting, of all things, women’s sanitary napkins.

There was a time when great fashion photographers such as Cecil Beaton who saw to it that the tiniest nuance, like a pleat or a ruffle, in a gown by Charles James, is well-rendered, enticing fashion designers to derive some modicum of inspiration from such portraitures. Pathetic to say, some subconsciously knocked off the entire design and call the subsequent result as his own creation.

During my upstart year (1959), we designers made sure our important labor of love was documented. Pictorials instigated by magazines or the broadsheets most often left the fashion creators unfulfilled and dissatisfied, after being furnished with a lensman whose only claim to fame is documenting bloody accidents or the eeriest of crimes.

This was where Bob Razon, Chat Peypoch, Ram’s Studio, and X’OR came into the picture. Their studios were equipped with well-controlled lighting, top-of-the-line cameras, and, most importantly, retokistas who eliminated pimple marks and other unwanted skin blemishes. Those who opted for idealized photographs went the extra mile literally and traveled all the way to Navotas in Malabon where Tropicana Studio’s in-house, generously gifted makeup magician, the late Toti Evangelista, would perform sorcery and give the sitters aquiline noses and soulful, deep-set eyes.

Eventually, shooting fashion became a popular deviation among the expert handlers of Hasselblad, Leica that later on made way to Nikons and Canons of every model. Chroma was made famous by Pancho Escaler. Jun de Leon became a star after quitting the publications he worked for. The younger ones then like Raymund Isaac caught up and all of these guys became sought-after and were commissioned to shoot commercial ads including the many gigantic billboards that are rudely beclouding the city landscapes.

One eccentric but super talented photographer I have worked with during the reign of the Hong Kong-based Asia magazine edited by Blanche Gallardo and published by her husband Bert for Adrian Zecha was the "Dean of Philippine Photography," the late Dick Baldovino. Dick was uniquely out of this world, making it almost impossible for some fashion designers to put their finger on what particular nuances the genius wanted in the attires. To Baldovino, the fashion part is the canvas of his intended masterpieces.

At one point, he assigned me to create a wedding gown in 24 hours flat. In addition, he ordered me to gather 200 tapers. Dick will never tell you what his requirements were for. The afternoon pictorial took forever. He only stopped clicking his Hasselblad when he noticed that all the candles were almost completely burnt. But seeing the picture of Marita David, now Anderson, younger sister of Blanche Gallardo bathed in candlelight was a huge solace for what this loony photo genius made me go through.

I am now reminded of another great lensman who might still be taking excellent pictures wherever he may be resting in peace right now. I am thinking of Mina Gabor’s late husband, Joe. Fashion fascinated him so much, steering him to apportion a part of his and Mina’s love nest to become a studio where fashion could be photographed.

Imaginatively, he installed a round skylight above his studio and I saw its marvelous effect while he captured the images of Baby Serrano Araneta and Lyn Umali Ledesma donning elegant flowing chiffon gowns. The picture landed on the glossy cover of the short-lived Pace magazine in the late '70s.

Fashion signals, as we all must admit, emanate from the acknowledged  fashion capitals. Vogue and Harper's Bazaar are the two precursors or the foretastes of fashion. We have always been tutored and informed by the glossy pages of these two giant magazines with photographs from such greats starting with Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Bruce Weber, and a host of others.

Presently inspired by those great fashion photographers, the local youth who have been taking advantage of all the advancements in digital photography are surfacing with their individual approach to photographing fashion.

Not a few have observed that the crop of digital photo-men are more concerned about making their personal statements more than helping the fashion designers make their individualistic fashion statements. In a manner of speaking, these inventive, adventurous camera guys are out to make photo-fashion journalists out of themselves.

These young people liberally provide competing publications with shrieking covers, better to outdo their many rivals. Not a few have likewise observed that magazine sections of, let’s say, National Book Store, are overly inundated with  magazines and more magazines. Even with assistance of the salespersons, looking for a magazine you desire is no easier than looking for a needle in a haystack. It would really take some time before one’s desired magazine is located.

In Facebook, these aggressive up-and-coming fashion photographers are quite noticeable. Proudly these very creative and original artists display their latest pictorials replete with the names of the creators of the costume, the stylist, hair and makeup artists, and, in some cases, a director is even part of the whole endeavor.

First to attract my attention was this guy who signs his name as, MJ Suayan. His compositions and imagery easily merit a second look. When I called his attention as to why one of the better male ramp models in his pictures wore very feminine makeup and a costume meant for women, his quick retort was that he and the designer are so much into the androgyny genre.

MJ even added,"I just want to share my thoughts and the ideas of my works. Photography is an art, and art is an expression. It should be free and limitless. There's this statement that we should sometimes think out of the box, but in my case,I think that there's no box at all."

Another young man whose body of work I came to fancy is Ahleks Fusilero. His photographs converse in a manner, and lovers of forward-looking fashion understand one another. At first glance, his imagery looks so foreign, classy, and oh so cosmopolitan.

Now here’s one strange fashionisto who is into what I christen as fashion’s underground movement. His name is Miguel Alomajan and works closely with stylist Jinx Cruz, Jomah Chu for grooming, and for the most vital ingredient, the fashion, is provided by Shandii J.

If I will be asked for my opinion, I am inclined to evaluate them as a pack of kids who love fashion dearly. What they need now is someone who will patiently give them the proper and right direction. This done, they will slowly but surely achieve the why, what, and wherefore of real fashion!