Fashion designer
Jul Oliva debuts
her hand-weaved quilting in a trapeze dress worn by TV host Divine Lee.
There’s a reason lovers sighed at the moon in Bali.
Oh, see. We conjured up a little something for Divine Lee whose marriage to Blake Go happens this Saturday in Cebu.
A harbinger: Our own version of a bachelor’s bash as the countdown dwindles to four days since he proposed a life together in Bali about a year ago.
Of all the Wednesdays, now is the perfect timing as her marriage will fortify her ties with all of us.
Since she broke through the entertainment hemisphere —crumbling social class system among viewers—our eyes, in fact, were set on her clothing behavior. But as far as today, she’s a delight, never ostentatious.
But as far as today, she’s a delight, never ostentatious.
She’s a designers’ favorite, someone who breathes life into any kind of reinvention from them, fashion week after fashion week. She’s still at the height
of her influence, transforming mere houses—including all bargain sales of the world, yes—into a fashion cult.
“I am not maarte in all things, except fashion because I consider fashion as an art piece to wear.
I love designers as much as I love Divisoria and ukay-ukay,” she tells us.
“The first ukay-ukay I did in Cebu was in Bogo. Blake and I came from Kandaya, and I was thrilled to find vintage items there.”
This time of the year also (a month after she turned 37), Jul Oliva perfects a ratio-and-proportion methodology to her signature handweaving. For the first time out in public, the precision of the lines has never been this strong.
It’s not a boring geometry equation.
But one mathematical rule she manages to retain has relevance again right now: The simplest shapes are the most powerful. She builds on a sound foundation; she gives it a firm twist.
Her patterns are about a piece that is straightforward and supercharged.
There’s a keen push-pull dynamic going on between the simplicity of these tried-and-true shapes and their exotic materials inspired by a photo spread of the sky at twilight in her favorite book “Daily Joy.”
It’s a power boost from the unusual treatment.
As Jul herself could have told you: It’s all about the tension among the solid, the useful, and the beautiful, enamored by the heart and soul of the ancient architecture.
The sculptural reliefs, the spandrels, or the gilding.
Quid pro quo—it gives for something in return.
