MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
Once upon a time in a section of the ancient city there lived the most famous fashion designers. Around Remedios Circle, on its fringes or blocks away from one another, they toiled with their cotton, taffeta, lace, and tulle, and nobody bothered to ask why Malate was The Place. Why, even Myther the Tailor, the self-named “Duke of Adriatico,” was drawn to that sweet spot.
At one point, Mayor Fred Lim was taunted by busybodies in media to declare Malate a “fashion zone” to honor Filipino couturiers, the ones who had tickled the imaginations of Imelda Marcos’ titled friends and the occasional visitor from New York, London, Rome, whether model, socialite, or photographer.
By the time Ben Farrales bid his final farewell last week, the faded silken wallpaper of Malate’s old glory had all but given up the ghost, though that part of Malate bravely continues to thrive today with Auggie Cordero on Alonso street and Mike de la Rosa along the Circle dressing their faithful clientele. Barge Ramos is still in Manila but no longer in Malate, Frederick Peralta is off somewhere. Gone are Pitoy Moreno, whose cozy house near St. Paul College was a landmark even to tricycle drivers; Aureo Alonso, who lived in a three-story house with a roof deck and curly vines beside a supper club (before and after several incarnations); Ernest Santiago, whose atelier was atop a building within sniffing distance of one of Larry Cruz’ restaurants; and Caloy Badidoy, a tenant of Syquia Apartments.
Ernest and Ben Farrales were across-the-street neighbors on Adriatico, but Ben’s real contemporary was Pitoy, the two said to be such deadly enemies that each could not stand hearing the name of the other mentioned in polite company. With Pitoy and Ben in heaven now, will they lay down their needles and measuring tapes, and watch the smoke curl up from their pipes while the best-dressed glamour girls of their time – Elvira Manahan, Meldy Cojuangco, Chona Kasten, Chito Madrigal – cheer them on?
To Mang Ben, ever proud of his Mindanao heritage, the dream was to globalize the colors, fabrics, and stylishness of the South through fashion. Yet he was deeply Catholic, and founded Congregacion del Santisimo Nombre del Niño Jesus.