Art truly is without borders. This rings true with Ditta Sandico, the award-winning fashion designer, entrepreneur, and rights advocate of women and indigenous peoples, as she finally explores the visual artist within her
Fashion is a world that Ditta Sandico was born into and raised in. She would sit beside her mother, Corazon Rosario-Sandico, the then-vice president-merchandising manager for Manila Christmas on Display (COD), one of the most popular department stores at the time. "I was drawn to the world of fashion through my mother's prodding, and eventually, my passion for indigenous fabrics came to the forefront of my career," Sandico says.
She would be lost in the wonder of the works of Japanese designers like Issey Miyake for his sculptural organic pieces, the elegance of Hanae Mori, and Rei Kawakubo's incomparable originality. "Them being Asian had a strong influence on my psyche since they helped me develop my sense of style," Sandico explains. "The lines and silhouettes their pieces produced were strong and appealed to my aesthetic sensibilities," she adds.
Sandico soon rose to prominence for her courage in promoting eco-friendly and sustainable fashion more than 30 years ago. She pioneered the use of banaca, a unique fabric made of banana and abaca, in her couture dresses, wraps, shawls, cover-alls, and what-not. This has made her a staunch advocate of the conservation of indigenous fabrics, empowerment of weaving communities, particularly that of the Mangyan tribe, and zealous promotion of alternative fashion through innovative weaving production and practices.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) recently awarded Sandico the Gawad Yamang Isip award for industrial design. "It reminds me of my personal mission, which is to elevate the humble abaca to modern pieces to be recognised and celebrated both locally and internationally and to provide a sustainable livelihood for local weavers with the production of the banaca fabric while preserving our heritage amid the rapid modernisation of our cultures," she says.
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