MANILA, Philippines - Martin Bautista returns with “Saturn,” his newest collection for fall/winter 2017. The designer marks his first decade in the industry with a galaxy-inspired lineup featuring sophisticated sheathes in sorbet and saturated hues — all confected in the designer’s signature and sensuous design vernacular. “My collection is sort of inspired by the colors, the strokes and the imagery of how you see the solar system in encyclopedias, in science diagrams or children’s books,” shares Martin, “I feel like this collection is my homecoming — in a sense that these were the elements that I used to be obsessed with when I was younger.”
The designer cites wild colors and sparkles as a starting point for inspiration, mixing a youthful, more exuberant sensibility with the cut and form of modern silhouettes. “The story of the collection is all about the marriage of tradition,” the designer shares, noting draping, tailoring and hand-wrought embellishments, “and the new technology of metal hardware, plastic, plexiglass and other innovations in fashion.”
For fall/winter 2017, Martin Bautista showcases a master class in embellishment for “Saturn,” a thoughtful departure from his usual oeuvre of liquid silks and draped knits. In what could only be described as a crescendo of his “short” tenure in fashion, the designer restrains the volume of his frocks but ups the glamour with his detailing. Standout looks include a teal and bottle-green number featuring a draped satin skirt, revitalized with a tassel-like fringe of suspended beadwork; a duo of shirred tulle baby-doll dresses featuring a lattice-work of bugles; short frocks with drops of plexiglass tubes or fully-adorned with marabou, among many others.
Shot in all its celestial opulence for this new campaign, “Saturn” carries on the youthful modernity that is the continous thread in all of Martin Bautista’s work. In his own words, “It’s freedom, fun and escapism. There’s a very strong undone glamour vibe to it: always undone, always raw, not too prim and proper.”
YStyle presents Martin Bautista’s newest look book for “Saturn” fall/winter 2017. On what’s next for the designer, “I’m celebrating my 10th year in the industry with a demi-couture collection!” We’ll definitely stay tuned for that.
Photography by RALPH MENDOZA, Styling by ANDREA ANG