Ram Silva in Anyag

August 30, 2015

Ram Silva, one of Iloilo's bankable designers, used his creativity to pay homage to a valuable sector of our economy, the farmers.

He did so while playing with colors like azure, blue yonder, gray, cadmium green and fuschia during the Fiber Fashion Fair 2015 held at SM City Iloilo last August 24-28, 2015 which highlighted 'hablon', any woven fabric made from a mix of local materials like abaca and pina.

Photography by Al Destacamento

"My inspirations are the farmers of Barotac Nuevo, my hometown. I have seen their struggles of working under the heat of the sun or under the pouring rain just so they will have something to feed their families. They inspire me to do good and to be good at what I do," Silva said.

In his collection called Anyag, Silva used Miag-ao hablon and duchess satin to create wearable dresses for ladies coming from all walks of life and those who are budget-conscious. The hats worn by the models were made of hablon, too.

Even outside of the fair, Silva infuses his creations with hablon. "I always make sure that I create hablon dresses for my clients, especially local celebrities," he said. He also uses the same fabric when he participates in shows here and abroad.

Photography by Al Destacamento

Silva sees a bright future for our hablon. "For me, hablon is the kind of fabric that will last for years. What makes it special is that you can have it specially made for clients. You can have your own design as well," he added.

He also wants to design shoes that use hablon.

Apart from designing beautiful clothes, Silva also handles events styling and organizing. Weddings, debuts and coronations are some of the many events that he is good at. This business requires him to work both in Manila and Bacolod.