Albert Andrada is synonymous with regal fashion.

To say that Albert Andrada is an old name in Philippine fashion is both right and wrong. It is right in that as early as the 1980s, Albert, then only 17, began designing. By the time he left to try his luck in the Middle East, he had designed a number of uniforms for such government agencies as the Land Transportation Office and the Philippine Coconut Authority, as well as the gala uniforms of the students of then St. Paul’s College of Quezon City.

Then, nothing would be heard of him when he worked abroad, first in Saudi Arabia where he designed dresses for wealthy matrons. His name would shine when he won the third Swarovski Award for Best Design in Dubai, a distinction that would lead to clients among royalty.

In 2012, he returned to the Philippines, started his shop the next year and has since been making waves. While he is famous for having designed the blue gown worn by the 64th Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, he has since achieved numerous distinctions, making him one of the sure heirs to the legends of Philippine fashion such as Ramon Valera, Pitoy Moreno and Ben Farrales.

ALBERT Andrada met Pia Wurtzbach years before she won Miss Universe in 2015. ASEAN barongs were his

Just as they did in the summit meetings and state visits of yore, Albert, too, designed the barongs of the heads of state and dialogue partners who attended the 31st ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, as well as the Filipiniana outfits of the leaders’ spouses. At home, Albert has been one of the exponents in the selection of Tingting’s List of Elegant Ladies, a prestigious annual award spearheaded by socialite Tingting Cojuangco.

Albert, together with Barge Ramos, will represent the Philippines this coming April in the New York Fashion Week where he will show his bridal masterpieces. Daily Tribune visited Albert at his Greenbelt 5 shop where he entertained us with his stories on the evolution of his fashion career.

Daily Tribune (DT): How long have you been designing?

Albert Andrada (AA): I’ve been designing since high school. I studied in San Sebastian.

DT: How did you become interested in designing clothes?

AA: My mom was like Imelda Marcos. She just loved to dress up, to host parties. So, I’d see her always looking beautiful and so well groomed. So, that’s maybe how I was inspired.

DT: What were the early manifestations of your talent?

AA: I remember that during my high-school days, I had a teacher who was always pissed off every time I submitted my assignment notebook because the back pages were always full of drawings of dresses. And you know how strict they were in San Sebastian. They were all so conservative.

Years later, students of our school would tell me, “You know, Albert, our teacher, she would brag about you. That she used to have this student who is now a designer.” And I would tell them, “You know what, she hated me before.” But the good thing was I was not traumatized even if I was scolded. So, I kept sketching clothes.

DT: When did you start your formal training in dress design and dressmaking?

AA: I had my formal training right after high school. I used to be a Fine Arts student. My dad wanted me to become an engineer. But I told him I was not good in numbers. So, my mom suggested that I take up medicine. My mom is a pharmacist. But I told her, “Mom, that would take a long time.” So, I studied at Slim’s. It’s the top school – it’s the only one that teaches haute couture, how to do the right piece properly.

DT: When did you start working as a professional?

AA: I went 100 percent already when, one time, my mom woke me up and she said, “Can you drive for me?” She asked me to go this place and it turned out to be a commercial space. Then, she brought out a key and said, “Here, take this, this is your shop.” Can you imagine that?

HE dreams of having his own fashion school. DT: Where was this shop?

AA: It was in Quezon City, on Kamias. This was in the very early 1980s. I was very young, like 17… thereabouts. Joe Sason was there. I really started early. So, even if I had a shop already, I was still a little bit playful. I wasn’t that serious. It was my Mom who was paying the rent of the shop. Not my earnings. I am so thankful my mom was so patient with me. Believe it or not, I would have clients now and then, but the payment for the rental of the shop came from her own pocket.

DT: So, you worked in Dubai? How long were you there?

AA: Yes. I left when I was 21. I was then doing the uniforms of LTO and other government agencies. Remember that yellow uniform? I did that. Also, the Philcoa uniform and, every year, the Saint Paul’s Quezon City gala uniforms.

So, somebody offered me to go to the Middle East. My first contract was in Saudi Arabia, which was the kingdom then that was hiring a lot of Filipinos. I went there against my Dad’s will. I was hard-headed and I had this adventurous streak. So, I insisted that I wanted to give it a try. My father said, “Believe me, Albert, you will come back after six months.” True enough, I came back after six months, but only to spend Christmas with them. He was surprised that I was returning to Saudi Arabia.

DT: Was it a shop you were going back to?

AA: Yes, a shop. So, that’s how I started in couture.

DT: So, it turned out one could have customers in Saudi Arabia?

AA: Yes. That was when I first laid my hands on couture. It was like, whether I liked it or not, I had to do it. And they would order not by piece, but by suitcases! They would bring you one luggage full of fabrics.

DT: Were they royalty? Were these rich people?

AA: I eventually had clients from royalty, but at that time, not yet. Well, what is rich here is just ordinary people there. So, my initial customers were ordinary people. Housewives. But I also had clients who were princesses, although a princess there would be just well-off.

AA: After 10 years in Saudi Arabia, I transferred to Dubai. I received an offer. Dubai was just starting. They didn’t have Coca-Cola yet.

AA: Almost 20 years. Just like when we were starting in Saudi, they were spending a lot in Dubai because there was so much money and Dubai is an open country. They would do their fitting in the shop, and you could design right in front of them. Although there were conservative clients, too, and for them, we had lady assistants who would measure them.

AA: Well. I won the Swarovski Designer of the Year award. I participated in this competition sponsored by Swarovski, the crystal company.

AA: The outfit that one designed had to have Swarovski components, but not 100 percent. So, mine was a Japanese ensemble. It was worn by a Japanese bride, but if the traditional robe was removed, a simple modern gown was revealed.

THE designer and his muse, Ching Cruz. DT: How did the award affect your career?

AA: Doors opened. I was offered by the royalty of Dubai to work for them. Also, the royalty of Fujairah, which was another emirate.

So, I stayed with this family during my last 10 years in Dubai. I was considered like family. I had a staff of 35. We were producing dresses just for her, although when there was a special occasion, also for her daughters.

DT: When did you return to the Philippines?

DT: Who was the first one who “discovered” you here?

AA: Manila’s elite. Like Ching Cruz, Agnes Huanghua. Also, US Ambassador Harry Thomas. He would come here and I did suits for him.

AA: One who listens to my suggestions is a good client. Not like clients who insist on what they want. And I would not want my name to be destroyed just because someone insists on something that does not fit them. I like a client who understands what fashion really is.

DT: Tell me about Pia Wurtzbach – that blue outfit.

AA: During one of my visits here in the Philippines, a common friend of ours, Harley Tan, introduced me to her. He brought Pia to Ascott, where I was staying. “If you need a model, here’s Pia.” So, when I finally came back and I needed models, I would call her. Once, we even had a show for Metro Society. Since I had just returned and didn’t know anyone, I told her, “Pia, you na lang.” So, when she would appear onstage, all the emcee could say was, “Pia Wurtzbach, model” and nothing more. But I would tell her, “Never mind because you’re beautiful.”

AA: For the longest time, I was told Filipinos were not asked to dress up our candidates for the evening gown competition. But sometime in September, Stella called me up. She was borrowing the costume that Pia wore during the Bb. Pilipinas contest. It was the one made of capes. She said they wanted her to wear it in the Miss Universe pageant. I said, yes, it would be an honor. She asked how much I would charge them, and I said no, I was not going to charge them because I know Pia. But then, two weeks after, she called and said they could not let her use the gown because it turned out that they had announced earlier that they would make a selection, so the designers will have to go through a screening process. I said okay. But she added she was hoping I could join them. What Pia did was on the last day of submission, she herself came to our office and took the design. True enough, it was chosen by the committee.

It was quite a journey. I was very busy then because I was also preparing for the ASEAN event.

DT: Tell me about the Elegant Filipina. How did you become part of the selection process for Tingting’s Elegant List?

AA: She once had an interview and she was asked who were the designers she looks up to and she mentioned my name. I was surprised because she had never come to me for a dress. But I was touched because that was Tingting Cojuangco who is in all our Best Dressed lists through the years. And then, she called me and asked if I could join her event. So, we were the ones who started it in 2015.

AA: We nominate women, but she has the last say. She would check everything. Sometimes, she would show us a picture in a magazine or in someone’s Facebook account, and say, “Oh, look at her, she’s not elegant naman ah.” So, you better be careful with your FB account. Kasi she visits FB and she checks. So, if there’s one picture that shows you’re not consistent, she notices that.

DT: In the Philippines, who do you consider to be the best dressed?

AA: Ching Cruz. I love her so much. She’s really very elegant. I nominated her. She was in the first Tingting’s List. Actually, we do have a lot of Filipinas who are elegant, who know how to carry themselves and who know what clothes fit them. But the last batch was much younger.

AA: Oh, I can mention some, like Bong Tan; Flora and Sherry Chua; Judith Tan. They’re mostly Chinese. And a lot more. Bea Cojuangco. Also, Danding Cojuangco. I make barong Tagalog for him.

DT: Have you been observing our young designers? Who do you think will make it to the next batch of fashion greats?

AA: There is a long list. The millennials are very adventurous. They love doing things that are remarkable. And they won’t stop until they get it. One thing about millennials, once they stumble, they surrender. Many are talented but not persistent. So, somebody has to mentor them, to guide them.

And there are a lot of women designers now who dominate the fashion scene. Before, it used to be the male designers. My favorite is Rosenthal Tee. We also have Patty Ang, Maureen Disini, Vania Romoff…we really have a long list. They’re all coming out.

Of the guys, there’s Mark Bumgardner, a very good designer. It’s so difficult to pinpoint just one because they’re all very, very good. It’s so nice to be a Filipino because we have a lot of good ones. Also, the designers from Davao. I judged one of their competitions, and Emil Ingles is one of their really very good designers. He mentors the younger generations now. If I were to look for an assistant designer, it would be the ones from Davao. These Mindanao designers can come up with a modern thing using indigenous materials.

AA: I travel. I always have a notepad and a pen beside my bed. Also, inside the bathroom. Inspiration just pops out. Things around me also inspire me. I am a very prayerful person. I spend my quiet time in the morning, like an hour. I talk to Him and ask for His grace. And I thank Him for using me. I am not great, it is He. People ask me why I am not proud. I tell them, what is there to be proud of? How can I boast? What is there to boast about that I am responsible for? All this comes from God. “Albert, you’re so good,” people say. No, I tell them, “It is He who is good. And He is good to me.”

DT: So, what can we expect from you in the coming years?

AA: I eventually want to have my own fashion school. I taught for three years in Raffles Fashion Design Institute. The main campus is in Singapore. Finally, I want to have a bar, one that would support the LGBT community. I really want to be involved in HIV awareness.

People don’t come out in the open because they think it is a source of shame. If we keep hiding it and ignoring it, the number of patients can grow. At least, with a bar, I could invite them to have fun. I also look forward to making the uniform of one of the best airlines in the world, but I can’t say now which airline it is.