Pinoy designer conquers Hollywood with piña, abaca

United States-based Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino is making waves not only in Hollywood but all over the world with his outfits made of native Philippine fabrics such as piña and abaca. Tolentino passionately promotes Philippine fabrics and Pinoy craftsmanship when he designs outfits that were featured "America's Next Top Model," "New York Fashion Week," the "Oscars," "Emmy's," and others. Tolentino has definitely gone a long way since he left his hometown, Bataan, in 1989 to pursue his passion for fashion. With 20 years in the business and international recognition under his belt, Tolentino maintains his production house in Makati City and has the gowns shipped to his other shop in Los Angeles. “Matagal na ‘yung mga tauhan niya dito, ayaw niyang iwan," said John Alster Bautista, one of Tolentino’s sewers, in an interview with Kara David for “OFW Diaries"
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV. In the same feature, Tolentino said he will not tire of promoting the Pinoy fashion sense in the international scene. “Gagawin ko ang lahat para ma-promote ‘yung country natin. Gagawin ko rin ang lahat para makilala ang produktong Pilipino," he said. Tolentino is expected to return to Manila in time for his gala as this year’s MetroWear icon on October 24. America's Next Top Model Tolentino's gown creations were recently featured on the TV reality show "America’s Next Top Model" (ANTM) in September. Tolentino’s evening gowns and cocktail dresses were showcased in the makeover episode of ANTM All-Stars, which gathers favorite finalists from previous cycles. In an interview with Spot.ph, Tolentino said he was “flattered that they dressed seven of the 13 [finalists] in my outfits." “The salmon cocktail and red cocktail dresses are made from piña and the purple cocktail dress’ skirt is made from abaca and piña," he shared, adding that the winning model of that week’s challenge wore one of his dresses. Tolentino is only the second Pinoy designer to grace the show produced by supermodel Tyra Banks. In Cycle 16 last year, Dubai-based designer Michael Cinco wowed ANTM with his voluminous creations made of recycled materials. Uniquely Pinoy Tolentino, who put up a branch of his boutique along Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in 2009, made fashion headlines last year when he was chosen as one of the finalists at the Oscars Designer Challenge. His 12-piece collection was also featured at the United Colors of Fashion during the New York Fashion Week on September 15. All of the dresses in Tolentino’s collection were made from Pinoy fabrics like piña, abaca, and raw silk cocoon. He also introduced a new fabric made of water lily and jute, which he learned about after meeting with weavers in Aklan. “I have been aggressively promoting our native weaving and embroidery industries internationally because I want our centuries-old expertise to live on well into the 21st century," he said in an interview with Fibre2Fashion.com. - VVP, GMA News