GUTSY Fashion Spotlight: An Interview with Pia Lizares of DESEO Clothing

Classy. Smart. Timeless.

The outfits above are just a few of the fabulous pieces from designer Pia Lizares' clothing brand, DESEO. The GUTSY team was able to interview this extremely talented Filipina.

GUTSY: You describe DESEO as being "Fashion conscious without being a slave to fashion." Just how different are your clothes compared to the other brands out there?

Pia: It means you choose the trends you adapt to. As for my clothing line, it’s trendy in the sense that it’s not old fashioned, but it still has that classic touch in a way that it will still look good and current even 15 or more years from now. I’d like to believe that my clothes are timeless, therefore, there is no such thing as an “end of season sale” for DESEO.

GUTSY: What makes it different from other brands of its price point?

Pia: My prices are pretty reasonable 995-1800 (as of this interview) for RTW items, but you get the exclusivity of couture, since I produce my designs in limited quantities (thus lessening the chances of you going to an event and having someone else wear the same dress/top). You can also have the items custom-fitted to your specific measurements for a reasonable additional charge, a service other brands of the same price point usually don’t offer. Lastly, the quality of my clothes is undeniable, since I design the pieces myself and supervise the manufacturing process (unlike most RTW brands that are made in China or other countries with cheap labor).

GUTSY: What inspired you to start your own clothing brand?

Pia: My mom has been in the garments business for the past 30 years. Her brand, L&M, is being sold in Landmark Department store and several Gaisano malls in the provinces, so having my own clothing line will make the transition seamless.

I look up to my mom, especially in the way that she is almost always impeccably dressed, never looking "losyang" given the numerous roles she plays in her life.

Lastly, I love Beauty and everything that has to do with it. I knew from the start that what I wanted to do has to do with everything that is girly (Fashion, Makeup, etc.). Vain as it may sound, ayoko pumangit. And having a clothing line can help me feed my desire to be beautiful and create beautiful things, while earning a living without having to start from scratch, since I already know some suppliers for raw materials, as well as a couple of [tailors].

As opposed to L&M, however, DESEO has more complicated patterns, smaller sizes and a slightly higher price point that caters to a different demographic. I wouldn’t say to a younger demographic, but more of a more experimental and sophisticated customer base.

GUTSY: How do you make your designs?

Pia: There is the basic observing of trends, but also studying how to make them timeless and in tune with my brand’s aesthetic.

As for the design process itself, many times a manipulated pattern comes before the drawing. (As opposed to other designers who draw first). I see to it first that certain elements of the garment are feasible to do, and then I piece them together into one design. The design only comes to mind completely once I know that it is possible to execute the individual parts of the garment first.

After this, I draw a flat 2D drawing of the garment itself (not a fancy designer sketch) on a paper called the JOB TICKET, and submit it to the tailors for them to create a sample, usually made in my size, which I fit. Once I know it looks good and falls well, and [considering] the number of compliments I receive while wearing the sample, [I] determine whether or not the design gets mass produced into different colors and complete sizes.

GUTSY: Describe the target market of DESEO clothing.

Pia: DESEO specializes in clothes that can be worn from the office and straight to a night out/business cocktail. Therefore it is usually targeted to working women. My designs are serious enough to be worn in the office, without being too stiff you can still wear it to a night in the town afterwards. Here's a description of the kind of woman I want to dress, taken from my blog: "She is sophisticated, self sufficient, does not crave for attention but can effortlessly make heads turn. She loves to receive gifts, but has enough money to buy things she likes. She is accomplished, well-respected and she can be sexy without exposing a lot of skin. Although she loves shopping for bargains, she does not mind spending more as long as the product has good workmanship and has an excellent fit. She follows her own taste level first before following trends and believes that fashion is only as good as how it looks on her. She knows what she wants and is possibly from the A-B and upper C class. She is a career woman, an excellent student, or possibly a housewife that refuses to look losyang."

Basically, this goes to say that my customers usually have spending power (my clothes are not exactly tiangge-cheap) and a taste level sophisticated enough to go beyond basic jeans and t-shirt as I love unique details in clothes.

GUTSY: Where do you get your ideas?

Pia: Magazines, Origami (I like complicated collars and sleeves) and the color wheel (as to which colors look “cohesive” when displayed). International designers whose design aesthetic I want to emulate are Victoria Beckham (check her website http://www.victoriabeckham.com/ for classic shifts, simple yet sharp designs in neutral colors), Roland Mouret (He is a master when it comes to origami details in clothes) and Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi and YSL.

GUTSY: What do you think is wanting in today's fashion culture? How do you try to address that with DESEO?

Pia: In regards to today’s fashion culture, I would like to believe that as with everything, ‘recessionistas’ (translation: recession-proof fashionistas) want to get more bang for their buck. I address this by making pieces that can be worn either as tops or as dresses (depending on the height of the person and on the occasion), can be worn from day through night, can be worn repeatedly, and can be easily integrated with items one already owns in her closet. I believe that value for money is not equal to the price of the garment alone, but the price divided by how many times you’ll wear it (a P500 blouse worn once is more expensive than a P1500 blouse worn 20 times), where you’ll wear it (if you’re wearing it to a special occasion, it automatically adds to the value of the item), and how you feel in your clothes (cheap clothes that are badly made and don’t fit well are not worth the money).



GUTSY: What do you think of the words "conservative" or "modest"? How do you reconcile freedom of fashion with the seemingly "stiff" rules that these words suggest?

Pia: My aesthetic has always been modest from the very beginning, and not exactly because my parents taught me so, or that the school outlawed wearing revealing clothes. CONSERVATIVE and MODEST can speak to everyone with common sense. Being small framed, [I find it impossible] to wear a strapless bra without the danger of it falling. So, when spaghetti straps were all the rage when I was a teen, I couldn’t wear it. From then on, I've learned to be conscious of choosing clothes that fit my body type and that excludes anything strapless.

As a designer and given my obsession with unique details. I believe that more conservative clothes have more generous cuts, thus giving me more FREEDOM to experiment. I love high collars, detailed sleeves, pleats and pintucks, details that are easy to execute on more conservative styles since they have more fabric (again which explains why my designs are pricey, since the yardage of the cloth is big).

I don’t let the woman drown in the details, however. Im still conscious of emphasizing the female form, my clothes are never shapeless. I do this through waist and bust darts. CONSERVATIVE AND MODEST ACTUALLY EQUAL FREEDOM IN FASHION.

Why? Imagine having the freedom of not worrying whether or not you’ll have a wardrobe malfunction during a special occasion. Or being able to move freely without worrying if anyone can see your underwear. Or staying comfortably warm in an airconditioned ballroom without worrying if you’ll catch a cold with your back fully exposed. Bottomline, if you’re comfortable in what you’re wearing, you’ll look good and feel good in it.

As a designer, my definition of clothes is to be able to protect you from elements, cover private parts, suit your body type and reflect your personality. If you follow these four correctly, you can easily carry yourself well, thus look more dignified. Aside from these four, there are no hard and fast rules in what’s modest and what’s not, since we have different body types to consider, but I put my foot down on anything that requires tape to secure to prevent private parts from being exposed.

For more DESEO, visit the website at http://deseoclothing.multiply.com, or contact Pia Lizares
Cellphone: 0920-9234593
Email: pia_lizares@yahoo.com
Photos from DESEO.

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