COMEBACK KID
Designer Geof Gonzales returns from hiatus for a collaboration with Guava Sketches.
Designer Geof Gonzales stopped making clothes more than half a decade ago. The reason being, there was no market locally for his highly conceptual clothes, and he wanted to focus more on styling and being the creative director for design collective group RabbitHole Creatives. A UP Diliman graduate and mentorship grant recipient of Central Saint Martins in London, Gonzales has worked with brands such as Team Manila and the defunct cult brand I Love You Store as a young designer.
His work with the rest of the members of RabbitHole Creatives has been well received in the industry, working with brands from local retail giant Bench to Hermés. They’ve also delved into wedding prenup set design for couples like Jericho Rosales and Kim Jones, and Heart Evangelista and Senator Chiz Escudero.
Fast-forward to a few years later, Gonzales is now back with a new collection and he’s collaborating with homeware and specialty store Guava Sketches for a trunk show opening today till Sunday.
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The collection is available from June 15-17 at Guava Sketches in Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati.
YSTYLE: How did the collaboration with Guava Sketches start?
GEOF GONZALES: It was a collaborative effort with Joan Cantemprate (owner of Guava Sketches) and stylist Melvin Mojica. They created a series of dialogues presenting different creative disciplines to use Guava Sketches as their platform. It is wildly forward of a move for a contemporary boutique. What was your inspiration for this collection?
I veered away from thematic sentiments and focused on making syntheses. It’s our way of approaching clothes — focusing deeply on clothing in a general sense and how, as a designer, can we offer a new perspective. One that encourages questions. Like existentialism in clothing. (We called the collections) I-18, Ib-18, II-18. Naming the collections numerically, the clothes speak to people in different ways. Like how an artwork affects one viewer differently from the other. What were your references when you were conceptualizing this collection?
I try to make clothes that are intuitive and confrontational. Our mood board consists of gestures, questions, emotions and an abstracted take on making clothes. Can you tell us about this collection’s woman?
She’s every woman. Bold or silent. Traditional or progressive. A mother or a daughter. The collection is for the human, not for the lifestyle. She is going inside herself. Questioning.
When was the last time you made a collection? How are your previous collections evident in your latest one?
The last I made was in 2012. The pieces I’m making now have a more honest approach. And saying everything through silence. Did you explore any new techniques in terms of construction?
I’m trying to question the very structure of clothes. But still respecting old techniques. It’s a matter of offering something new to the touch. Fabrics that are visceral. Finishing that is inquisitive. Form that is explorative.
What would you say is the mood of this collection? What were you feeling this season? Being weightless. Transparency. Honesty. Fragility. If this collection had a soundtrack, what would be on it? The sound of a murmuring crowd (laughs)? And some Eva Eugenio.
How does your work with RabbitHole Creatives affect you in making clothes?
With RabbitHole, me and my partners encounter a lot of things and ideas that we want to change, or sometimes preserve. Perspective, mannerisms, techniques. RabbitHole somehow informs the intent of the clothes. Describe your collection in one word? “Why.” What’s next for Geof Gonzales? More questions.