Photographed by Kim Santos
Renz Reyes
“Tambo” (“Reed”)“Working with artisans, I’ve learned that [the design process] is a collaborative effort. Each person brings out something different from the other person, which always results to something new.”
“Working with artisans, I’ve learned that [the design process] is a collaborative effort. Each person brings out something different from the other person, which always results to something new.”
Designer Renz Reyes is continually inspired by the artisans he’s worked with for the past decade, finding newness in their passed-on knowledge and hands in dialogue.
Renz Reyes likes to keep a balance: between form and flow, light and heavy. You could make out the pattern in his work at first glance; denim is worked to curvilinear lines that open to airy cutouts, and fluid organza juts out to the look of a structured shoulder. These choices are counterintuitive, but they are second nature to the designer, whose references lie in textures and techniques that are “as varied as the different islands of the Philippines.”
The dress he designed for Vogue Threads: Paris 2024, titled “Tambo” (Reed), aims to highlight “tactile craft, not specific to any region, per se, but a play on material and shapes.” He elaborates, “Having a background in embroidery, I gravitated naturally to handicraft and any artisanal craft: basketweaving, knitting, macramé.”
Reyes used threads of different densities to evoke the contours of the land, while its silhouette takes the form of a more familiar object: a soft whisk broom made in the Philippines and its reeds. “Thinner, spindlier threads and thicker, chunkier yarns create a very interesting amalgamation of volume and dimension,” he says. “I layered organza to create different transparencies [for a play on] light and shadow.”
It took about a week and four people other than himself to create: two embroiderers, a beader to do the hand-sewing, and a sewer to piece each part together. Reyes didn’t have to try too hard to seek inspiration. He tells Vogue Philippines that he found it within the process, watching the skilled artisans he’s collaborated with for years at work.
“I think what makes Filipino craft unique is that it’s inherently personal,” he says. “Working with artisans, I’ve learned that [the design process] is a collaborative effort. Each person brings out something different from the other person, which always results to something new. Sometimes the result far exceeds the original concept.”
That can be the only result of shared ideas sifted through discussion and meticulous acts rooted in ritual. Reyes muses, “It’s a wonder—the things we are capable of, using our hands.”
On its second anniversary, Vogue Philippines invites homegrown and global creatives to Vogue Threads, an experience that weaves Philippine culture, creativity, and community into the world. Its inaugural edition celebrates Filipino artistry and heritage, through an exhibit featuring the works of designers from the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Photographed by Kim Santos. Art Director: Jann Pascua.
