Cebu-based Edwin started his career in fashion early on, delving into the world of design while he was still a Fine Arts student at San Carlos, and rising steadily through competitions over the last few years, including the Mega Young Designers and Paris competitions, to become one of fashion’s freshest, most exciting young faces among the tough, competitive breed of hot young Filipino designers today.
Edwin’s latest collection, Urban Renewal, which is also his entry into this year’s Asian Young Designers competition in Singapore, is, as he calls it, part of what is the evolution of taste. Tired of the tattered and torn hodgepodge look—that busy, sometimes cluttered, look of clothing popular now among designers—he focused on taking out the patched-on pieces and literal layers without losing the texture and density of deconstruction.
Melding together synthetic fabrics such as undyed jusi and taffy silk, he creates something of an abstract piece of art in colors of autumn with accentual streaks of bright turquoise. The result are bold, striking lines on a busy-looking piece—powerful contrasts which make them seem complex and clean all at once and gives them both a softness and a masculinity at the same time.
Several of Edwin’s newer pieces also stand out as sculptures of a sort, fitting since that is exactly how he creates them. Without first sketching his ideas, Edwin shapes the fabric on a mannequin into a rich, ‘sculptured’ design, some in nude colors, that seem to flow in the most natural way. He plays with darts and drapes to achieve his piece, toying with it freeform and creating an almost "thrown together" look.
"I like making asymmetrical pieces," Edwin says. "Because perfect symmetry is tiring, and it doesn’t exist naturally anyway. Asymmetry is imperfection, and with Urban Renewal, I embrace imperfection as much as I do evolution." Edwin’s clothes are all highly experimental but wearing, translating easily from the catwalk to the streets. "My fashion is accessible," he explains. "Though it is not exactly conservative."
For the Asian Young Designers competition, Edwin has his fingers crossed. "We haven’t won in a few years," he says. "Though I believe the biggest advantage other countries have over us is technology. For Filipinos, machines like, for example, for fabric stamping aren’t as easily available. Or if they are, they will be too expensive." He muses over his little makeshift blowtorch, with which he seamlessly melded together the synthetic pieces of his creations.
But as far as design is concerned, Edwin believes we are at par with other Asian countries. "We’ve gone global, especially many young designers," he explains. "I mean, we’ve gotten over forcing the issue of reinventing the terno, and we’re doing designs that aren’t that rigidly cultural, but they’re still Filipino anyway. I think it’s a good thing we’re not forcing ethnic design to define us, since first of all, it makes us look even more Third World, and second, we are capable of a whole range of design already."
Edwin Ao is currently based in Cebu, working with Jun Escario. Urban Renewal will be revealed in the Asian Young Designers 2005 in Singapore this October, where Edwin Ao, along with fellow designer Jerome Ang, is representing the Philippines.
