For many Filipino fashion designers, the ultimate dream is to showcase their collection in one of the major fashion capitals in the world. Presenting their best designs alongside the industry’s giants and legends guarantees to put their name on the map. But young fashion creative Paula Villasper skipped that and set her eyes on an international platform that spotlighted artists and their masterpieces.
Pursuing a career in the creative field was a natural step for Paula. Her passion for the arts began from watching her mother Gene Artango-Villasper, a member of the Saturday Group of Artists and a renowned cubist painter, work on her masterpieces. But it was in her high school years at Ingenium School Marikina that she discovered her love for designing garments as she created costumes for school productions.
“Recognizing my potential to bring characters to life through clothing, I expressed their development, mood, goals, and dreams through their attire,” Paula told Manila Bulletin Lifestyle. “Each detail became crucial, requiring synergy, intention, and meaning. This passion for purposeful garment creation drove me to pursue a serious career in fashion design.”
Her life in fashion started in SoFA Design Institute’s Arts and Design Track on-the-spot bag design competition for Senior High School. After becoming the winner of the contest, she became a student of the school, studied BA in Fashion Design and Marketing as a scholar, graduated summa cum laude of this year, and became the school’s ambassador. The thing was, studying fashion design didn’t just equip her with the skills fashion creatives must have but it also enriched her knowledge about the arts.
“In an enlightening moment during my ‘Exhibits for Arts production’ course under the tutelage of National Museum of the Philippines’ deputy director-general for museums Jorell Legaspi at SoFA, I was captivated by his lecture on the Italian Biennales dating back to the ’90s,” she mused. “These esteemed events, including the prestigious Venice and Florence Biennale, serve as global platforms for exhibiting and promoting contemporary art and design. They foster cultural exchange, diplomatic relations, and critical discourse while supporting emerging artists, enhancing the portfolios of seasoned artists, celebrating diversity, and contributing to the cultural heritage of the host city or country. Since then, I was always on the lookout for the featured artworks and artists.”
Last October, noted artists from around the world gathered at the Spadolini Pavilion and the Cavaniglia Pavilion of the Fortezza da Basso in Italy to celebrate the 14th edition of the Florence Biennale. Among its roster of creatives from Italy, Switzerland, and the US, among others, were Filipino artists, including Paula, who fondly calls her brand and design persona Paupi.
“My mother received the exciting news of her acceptance as a participant in the fine arts category of the Florence Biennale,” the 23-year-old designer shared. “To my delight, I discovered that a design category had been introduced. I promptly submitted my portfolio and within days, received the official admission letter and was confirmed to be the first Filipina fashion designer to participate.”
In line with the biennale's 2023 theme “I Am You: Individual and Collective Identities in Contemporary Art and Design,” she presented her work titled “Reborn.” According to her, the piece was part of her six-look collection dubbed “The Chandler’s Light” for SoFA’s Design Studio 7 Thesis. The collection took its inspiration from the term “chandler,” a maker or seller of candles. It aimed to highlight the story of how giving too much kindness can lead to mistrust, exploitation, and mistreatment. But there’s also beauty in the process, like how candles turn into different forms in the melting process as they give light to others, echoing a sense of resilience after losing whatever we have, hence, its moniker.
Paula mirrored that tale with her “Reborn” piece with the use of fiberglass. She bent, manipulated, and scratched the material to make one gilded wearable sculpture. Its charm can be seen in its textures and how the designer connected its pieces with chains, making a striking silhouette.
“The look serves as a radiant reminder of the profound beauty in human transformation, irrespective of one’s cultural heritage, racial identity, or ethnicity,” the designer explained. “Like melting candles that burn and reshape into new forms, people repetitively undergo profound change. Amid excruciating burns and pain, one's resilience gives birth to new aspects and characteristics that magnify one’s rarity. This change unveils the true strength and uniqueness of vulnerable human beauty.”
Adorning Paula’s display was the painted wooden shoe molds by Project Hulmahan, an organization that helped sponsor her participation at the biennale. After her appearance at the Florence Biennale 2023, she was able to take part in arts and design conferences on a mission to highlight responsible innovators, like the Fortune Brainstorm Design: Empathy in the Age of AI in Coati, Macau, which was sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
“I define my work as an artist and fashion designer who celebrates ‘La beauté de Vivre,’ or the beauty of living through surreal and sculptural imagery with narratives that exude wisdom and imagination that inspire a sense of transformation,” Paula said. “I think every designer can be an artist but not every artist can be a designer. The vital part of my creative process in drawing the line between Paupi as an artist and Paupi as a designer is when I think about how my creation moves forward, how it stands the test of time, and whether its purpose stays relevant over time.”
“The entire experience highlighted the responsibility I hold as a designer and artist to use these platforms to spread awareness, preach about sustainability, encourage ethical and innovative ideas, and empower communities,” she added. “Knowing that most of my audience are start-ups, emerging designers, and aspiring artists, now is the perfect time to establish personal sustainability goals and be bold enough to take risks that could potentially open more opportunities aimed at making you a better designer and artist that could change the world and the life of future generations.”
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