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Anthony Cruz Legarda
Anthony Cruz Legarda is a Filipino American fashion designer who incorporates authentic hand-woven fabrics from the Philip...
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Anthony Cruz Legarda
Anthony Cruz Legarda is a Filipino American fashion designer who incorporates authentic hand-woven fabrics from the Philippines into distinctive American clothing as well as an artistic director who makes magazine covers sizzle with his aesthetic images. He pursued a degree in Fashion Merchandising at the City College of San Francisco and furthered his education at the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Aside from becoming a featured artist at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, and the Queens Museum of Art in
New York City, Mr. Legarda is proud of his involvement with a Philippine-based organization, Katutubong Filipino Foundation, whose mission is to revive Philippine folk arts and crafts.
Anthony Cruz Legarda’s most recent achievements include: (1) dressing the top eight finalists in 2007's Miss Earth beauty pageant, which promotes environmental awareness (2) and designing for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Science & Technology Ministers from Asian countries for the 8th Asean Science and Technology week on July 7, 2008. The clothing produced for these two events was a collaboration between Anthony Cruz Legarda and the Philippines Textile Research Institute – Department of Science and Technology (PTRI-DOST).
Fashion House
The design philosophy of the Anthony Cruz Legarda fashion house is fusion artwear that combines beautiful Filipino fabrics with modern American sensibility. Fabrics for the collection are hand-woven, hand-embellished, and dyed with natural pigments by indigenous weavers from the Philippines. This encourages development of eco-entrepreneurship and sustainable fashions by honoring traditional methodologies and fair trade with native artisans.
For the past decade, the house has created sophisticated garments that are made from Filipino hand-crafted fabrics and tailored into American art-to-wear. Design elements reflect varied origins, such as Safari jackets with wide Nehru collars and classical American jackets contrasted with Chinese neckline closures. Billowy puffed sleeves and magnificent high collars are fused with ultra-sexy mini dresses and sleek tuxedo jackets.
The next fashion line will be a collection of chic caftans and coats in varying lengths paired with bustiers, asymmetrical skirts and palazzo pants. Each piece will be opulently hand-embroidered and beaded by Filipino master artisans.
Textiles
The signature textile is piña, a high-quality cloth hand-woven from natural pineapple fibers made only in the Philippines. Other variations in the fabric palette include Philippine silk, organic cotton, bamboo, soy and other natural and eco-friendly fibers.
The emphasis is the research and development of new hand-woven textiles with natural, organic fibers and dyes for the world market. These fabrics are then hand-embroidered and beaded by talented craftspeople from the Philippines. Motifs of the embellishments are a mélange of East and West iconography and patterns. Ultimately, these translucent and iridescent textiles feature the technical virtuosity of Filipino master weavers and artisans.
Mission
To produce the finest natural and organic fabrics made by sustainable ethnic communities in the Philippines and manufacture them into made-to-order art-to-wear clothing for the United States and the world market.
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