The plain truth about Liz Uy

There was a time, when I was young, that I wanted to be a housewife,” reveals, believe it or not, celebrity stylist Liz Uy. “I just wanted to cook for my husband and take care of him. That or be a restaurateur.”

Looking at Liz Uy’s life right now, it’s plain to see that this whole idea of domestic bliss seems far-off. Or at least an idea that would have to be put on hold, at least for the next so many years. Because right now, life has another plan for the popular fashion icon. One that includes exchanging small talk and air kisses with Scott Schuman, better known as top blogger The Sartorialist, at the Burberry show in London Fashion Week or dancing to Alexa Chung’s DJ set at an Esquire party in Whitehall Place. One that includes shopping abroad with fellow style icon Vice Ganda and local queen of talk Kris Aquino. One that includes starring in a major ad campaign for fashion brand Plains & Prints.

Celebrity stylist and certified It Girl Liz Uy goes on-cam as the newest endorser of Plains & Prints. This is the first time Liz is endorsing a fashion brand. “I’m both nervous and overwhelmed about this endorsement. And since I’m in the fashion industry, I was very careful about choosing which brand to endorse.”

For sure, Liz Uy is leading a charmed life, but only as a result of training, an exceptionally good eye, and basic hard work. Starting out as an editorial assistant for Preview magazine in 2004, Liz worked her way into becoming the preferred stylist of the country’s biggest celebrities and of biggest fashion brands, one of them women’s clothes retailer Plains & Prints.

“Bata pa ako no’n,” Liz says about working with the brand for the first time six years ago. “I feel as if I’ve really grown with the brand.” No other stylist can propose the same kind of familiarity Liz has with Plains & Prints. Which is why it was only a natural decision for owner Roxanne Farillas to ask Liz to do more than just behind-the-scenes representation for the brand. 

“Liz is a ‘thinking woman.’ She works, she’s very successful in what she does,” says Roxanne. “Our market, the women who wear Plains & Prints, can relate to her.” At the same time, bringing in Liz is a subtle tap into another market — the younger, fashion-forward crowd that idolizes Liz and dreams of achieving what she has: fame as well as fortune from dressing up celebrities.

Liz appreciates the wide range of choices Plains & Prints offers. “I particularly love their shift dresses.”

As the stylist partly responsible for the sleek, Grace Jones-esque look of Vice Ganda, the sexy, cleavage-baring ensembles of Anne Curtis, and the elegantly playful wardrobe of Kris Aquino and of many more showbiz denizens, Liz has the prerogative to suggest which looks they should take on, the brands they should buy or the designers they should trust.

“Stylists are very powerful now,” designer and Plains & Prints creative director Rhett Eala intimated over lunch about six months ago. He must have been partially referring to Liz when he said that.

Liz has changed the looks of many of her celebrity charges throughout the years but she also readily admits that she’s transformed as much as they have. “Environment and age have changed my personal style. I used to be more playful and brave, like how Laureen is now,” says Liz, referring to her younger sister, actress and fashion blogger Laureen Uy. “I used to go to the office, during the days when Sex and the City was popular, wearing huge flowers. I had no inhibitions. I was more experimental. My hair and look would change every year,” she continues to muse. “But now, it’s more polished, more refined. I don’t think I can be that edgy anymore. I’m more feminine now. “

Coming into her 30s and this kind of refined style prompted Liz to agree to be a Plains & Prints endorser. “It’s so much easier with Plains & Prints. They have a whole range from tailored dresses to simple tops.” She further explains, “I love their shift dresses. I can dress them up in 10 ways, with a belt or an accessory. Right now, I am really loving this printed jacket that I wore in the ad campaign. It’s African-inspired in earthy tones. I can wear it with jeans or shorts, over jeans.”

But it’s more than just her personal style that has changed in the last few years. Liz the person has also gone through significant change. She’s grown up. When I interviewed her for the first time four years ago, Liz’s styling star was on the fast rise and the spotlight was trained on her partly because of a fresh break-up with top celeb John Lloyd Cruz. At that time, one of her conditions for agreeing to be interviewed was that no questions about John Lloyd, or JL as he is known in showbiz circles, be asked. “People would say before that I was elusive. But that wasn’t something I was doing on purpose. At that time, I still wasn’t used to sharing my personal life with people I don’t know or am not close to.” Working closely with celebrities, however, helped changed her mindset. “I just realized that it’s all part of the job, that it’s work and nothing more. I also learned how to embrace the publicity. I can’t hide from people and their questions and I also didn’t want to be bastos.”

Liz worked with brother and art director Vince Uy and photographer Mark Nicdao on her Plains & Prints shoot. “It’s good working with them because they already know my body and my angles as much as I do. Walang nang lokohan.”

Liz soon learned enough to answer, albeit very carefully, even the most personal of questions. At the same time, she also learned to parry — with cheeky grace — queries that she feels she’s in no position to answer.

And then, in 2010, the news that she was being pursued by the newly-elected President Noynoy Aquino, whom she briefly styled. Liz, via a single 30-seconder slot on The Buzz and countless 140-character Twitter messages, went from being a minor celebrity to public property: Everyone had to have their say about her and her life. But this time, Liz was prepared, laughing off rumors that the few dates soon became an engagement (“It’s funny how they create tsismis like that. But there was no truth to that. At all.”) and then, later on, politely keeping mum about the President’s succeeding relationships.

Even before the P-Noy association, however, people were already curious to know about Liz Uy, and not just as the ex-girlfriend of John Lloyd Cruz. She was neither an actress nor a TV personality nor a model, she wasn’t seen on a daily or weekly basis on television, yet she was often alluded to by celebrities on Tweets, on gushing shout-outs, and in celebrity interviews. People started to become more and more intrigued, so much so that when Preview put Liz on its Jan.-Feb 2011 cover, it became one of the year’s best-selling issues. Same with her Town and Country August 2011 cover. By the time she finally made it on-cam, guesting on talk show hosts, doing guest judge stints for Showtime, and endorsing consumer brands, the name Liz Uy was already one of the first, top-of-mind names in contemporary Philippine fashion, with nearly 800,000 followers on Twitter and the youth carelessly throwing about her name in fashion discussions. (True story: when a publisher for Summit Media asked a publishing assistant-hopeful who her favorite designer was, the young interviewee mistakenly replied, “Liz Uy.” The story can be an example the ignorance of youth, but it can also be taken as proof of the vast influence Liz holds.)

The year 2012, however, might just be Liz Uy’s real breakout year. Apart from this new endorsement for Plains & Prints, the celebrity stylist, who turned 30 last February, also recently signed a contract with Viva Entertainment, the same talent management company that also represents Anne Curtis, Sarah Geronimo, and KC Concepcion. It was a good move, as Viva is sure to bag her more endorsements and maybe even hosting gigs. Liz, however, demurs at the thought of doing movies. “I can’t do real acting. Hindi ko kaya yung iiyak ako. Wala naman sanang feelings na ganon involved. Huwag niyo naman ako saktan.” But she’s open to doing cameos, having done one for the recently-released Kimmy Dora sequel.

Add author to the list as well. A couple of months ago, Liz divulged her plans to write a book on fashion on Kris Aquino’s morning show. “That will maybe come out some time next year. I don’t want to say when exactly.”

Plus, her styling schedule is more loaded than ever. “I work almost every day. It’s so hard to decline work. I always think that not everyone can have the chance to dress up celebrities for a living. It’s an aspirational thing for other girls. So why am I going to say no when it’s right there in front of me? As long as I can be present at the shoot, I’ll say yeah.”

Celebrity status, public heartbreaks, and endorsements aside, one thing about Liz Uy hasn’t changed: she’s still as pleasant and approachable as she was when she first started out as an editorial assistant. And this may just be the secret to her success. Liz’s easygoing nature is a welcome change to the barely-concealed condescension felt from some society-raised It girls or a few of the local fashion folk. Though she can pull off sophisticated with a tailored shift dress and an upsweep of her hair, she can also affect down-to-earth and congenial with an easy injection of popular swardspeak in her conversation. She’s real, a girl who doesn’t try to spout intellectual philosophies or claim lofty filial connections just to appear superior. It’s the same endearing quality that is seen in Anne Curtis, now called the nation’s sweetheart. Liz is successful partly because she knows herself, her capabilities, and her limitations. “Gising lang ako sa katotohanan. I know my face. I know my body. Hindi na lang lahat maganda. This Plains & Prints endorsement came at the right time in my life. Hindi na lalaki ulo ko because of it. I won’t change in any way. I’m comfortable with who I am.”

“We’ve worked with Liz on our campaigns for the last six years. She is a woman of style and substance, and she understands the value of hard work and determination—very much the characteristics that Plains & Prints champions,” says brand owner Roxanne Farillas.

Liz Uy gets a little bit more personal

On dating: “I have Mond,” she laughs, referring to bestie Raymond Gutierrez. “He’s always there for me.”

On why it didn’t work out with P-Noy: “It’s not easy to be associated with the President. Sobrang dami na niyang kailangan gawin. I’m the least that the President should have to worry about.”

On ex-boyfriend John Lloyd: “We’re still friends, but I don’t style him anymore. It would be awkward if I did.”

On Ely Buendia: “Eli and I are friends. I don’t want to discuss Eli’s life because he’s a very quiet person. And talented. Yun lang masasabi ko. We’re just friends.”

On why she hasn’t had a serious relationship after John Lloyd: “It will come. People think I’m choosy but I’m really not. Sa akin lang, I’m already 30. With my busy schedule, I don’t want to have to play around. If I date a guy for maybe six months, but I know I’m not going to end up with him anyway, I don’t want to have to think that I just wasted my time. Ayoko nang making-laro. Nakakapagod siya. But I’m a girl and I still hope.”

On why she loves what she does: “I’ve always thought that if I could influence even just one person, I’d be happy. But now, through Twitter, people tell me every day how much I’ve inspired them and changed their lives. That makes me really, really happy.”