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By Abs A. Abando / Philippines News Agency
Showcasing Filipino creativity in no less than the world’s fashion capital, Filipina haute couture designer Sari Lazaro closed the “Catwalk on Water” fashion show, produced by Vietnamese-born, Paris-based model Jessica Minh Anh, at the Seine river with her “Royal Secret Garden” collection on January 27.
In the collection, Lazaro combined dramatic, laser-cut details on luxurious silks and flowing tulle and lace to conjure romance and mystique, as well as demonstrate new-age flair.
Joining Lazaro in “Catwalk on Water”, which put the Far East in the spotlight, were Indonesia’s Fetty Rusli and Maria Ruth Fernanda, Malaysia’s Samantha Chua, and the United States’ Johannah DiNardo.
”Catwalk on Water” is just the latest of the many successful haute-couture events produced by Minh Anh, who often picks unusual settings for her shows.
For her latest show, Minh Anh created the illusion of models walking on water by having them walk before guests, who were seated facing the multifaceted windows of the 100-meter glass boat, Le Jean Bruel, as it cruised the Seine.
Minh Anh is best known for her mind-blowing runway productions at iconic monuments, among them the Eiffel Tower, London’s Tower Bridge, the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the Petronas Twin Towers’ Skybridge, the One World Trade Center, the Gardens by the Bay’s Skyway, and a catwalk that ran across a solar power plant in Spain.
Notable accomplishment
Her participation in “Catwalk on Water” is a notable accomplishment for Lazaro, who has been interested in fashion since she was young. Her mother, after discovering her talent, enrolled her at a tertiary art school in London, called the Central Saint Martin, when she was 17. Lazaro eventually took up fashion marketing and fashion design at De La Salle University.
Lazaro also took an intensive fashion-design course at the London campus of the prestigious Instituto Marangoni, and when she returned to the Philippines in 2012, Lazaro began designing dresses for special occasions.
Lazaro debuted as a rookie designer with her own show, titled “Luxe Ethereal”, in Manila in January 2016. Her designs impressed celebrities and the fashion elite, who saw her potential in haute couture.
Sari Lorenzo (right) with Jessica Minh Anh.