IMAGE
1: DESIGN WIZ. 22-year old Roy T.
Gonzales, works on designs for the House of Cardin at his Paris office. Pierre
Cardin handpicked the young Filipino to join his fashion house after seeing his
award-winning designs while a student at the famed Ecole de la Chambre
Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Image:
Sunday Times Magazine
In 1964, a young Filipino design student placed first in a class of 80 students from France’s premiere fashion school Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. It was a historic triumph in the fashion capital of the world for the unassuming Kapampangan boy who displayed his mastery in cutting and designing to beat competition. Little did his professors and classmates know that Froilan “Roy” Gonzales, had long prepared for this, living and breathing fashion design in all his 20 years.
His auspicious win would presaged a long career in Paris, where he would conquer the elite fashion houses of the city—the likes of Cardin, Patou and Lecoanet-Hemant, the Versace and Calvin Klein of that period.
Undoubtedly, his creative genius was in his genes, imbibed from both his grandmother and mother, prominent couturiers back in Manila. But the course of his career was also shaped an influenced by a unique background, the kind of story that movie dramas are made of, and which must be retold.
IMAGE 2: ALING BELTA, MODISTA PAR EXCELLENCE. Roy’s design genius was inherited from grandmother Roberta “Belta” Paras, whose own drama-filled life story tested her will and shaped her character. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
Roy’s grandmother was Roberta “Belta” Tablante Paras, a woman of extraordinary talent and character, very much ahead of her times. She was the daughter of Modesto Paras, a juez de paz of Angeles, Pampanga and Juliana Tablante. Early on, Belta showed dexterity in handling needle and thread; she could cut and sew clothes with such skill that she started making a name for herself as dressmaker of note. Thus, in 1902, the young modista opened her Angeles shop.
IMAGE 3: JOSEFINA PARAS. Roberta Paras’ love-child with prominent Angeles doctor, Dr. Jose Tayag, and Roy’s mother, at her communion. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
By a twist of fate, she would fall in love with Dr. Jose Tayag, a prominent Angeles doctor who was very much married man. Her father disowned her, so she fled to Manila, heavy with the child of Dr. Tayag. Yet, she managed to open a small dressmaking shop in Quiapo on Fraternal St. near the Pasig River in 1912. She would give birth to her daughter, Josefina, on November 9, 1912, but once she recovered, the single mother went back toiling in her little shop.
IMAGE 4: CLIENT CALL. Lola Belta gained a reputation for her beautiful bridal gown creations. Her early commissions include this bridal gown of Socorro Brigida Naval for her wedding with Zosimo P. Ricafort. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
Her ambition and determination paid off; her creations—from bridal ensembles to ball gowns and formal wear found a steady stream of clients, many from among Manila’s elite. So in 1918, she moved her shop to Binondo in where her business gained more ground
IMAGE 5: R.T. PARAS BUILDING, along Rizal Avenue, housed a school of dressing as well as the fashion shop of Roberta Paras. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
But there was more to come. With her substantial earnings, Belta invested on a property along Manila’s premiere commercial center, Avenida. She put up her own R.T. Paras Building at 859 Rizal Avenue, which housed not only her couture shop but also a school of dressmaking. The last venture, too, flourished, and Belta’s fashion business was now a big-league enterprise.
IMAGE 6: ALING BELTA WITH GRANDCHILDREN, TITA & ROY GONZALES. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
Roberta Paras lived long enough to reap the rewards of her dreams and enjoy them. She remained selfless in the midst of her success, welcoming even Dr. Tayag’s children to her house in Manila during their schooling in the University of the Philippines, and treating them as her own. Most important too, she managed to pass on to daughter Josefina her passion for her art and craft, her exacting eye for good design, and her fine taste in fashion couture. These too, were not lost on grandson Roy, who, at a young age, was a witness to her grandmother’s talent, work ethics, and strong family values that that would serve him well as a design student in Paris.
IMAGE 7: INANG, THE SUCCESSOR. Josefina “Inang” Paras (with Roy), continued the R.T. Paras fashion house and her business savvy helped grew the family enterprise. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
When Roberta Tayag Paras passed away in 1952, her daughter, Josefina, took on her mantle and embraced her new role as the head of the fashion house. She brought to the table, her sharp business acumen honed by years of being an assistant to her mother as a teen. She finished her high school at St. Theresa’s College and earned a Commercial Science degree from Jose Rizal College. She also enrolled at her mother’s dressmaking school, and successfully completed that course too.
IMAGE 8 : ON THE MOVE. The House of R.T. Paras at the new Quezon Boulevard location in 1957. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
Inang proved to be as strong-willed as her mother, but on her own, she was also a visionary of sorts. In 1957, Inang moved R.T.Paras to a new location in Quezon City, an area that was then just being developed. A spanking, modern building was built to become the all-new House of R.T. Paras Haute Couture.
IMAGE 9: A WEDDING GOWN CREATED FOR BRIDE NONNIE AGUINALDO. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
This proved to be a smart move as the fashion house even became even more popular, its elite roster of clients growing by leaps and bounds. In its heyday, the House of R.T. Paras got to dress all the First Ladies of the country (except Dra. Loi Ejercito), beginning with Mrs. Aurora Aragon Quezon . Presidents Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were also valued clients. Manila’s 400 came knocking at the doors—the Cojuangcos, Aranetas, Tansecos, Lagdameos , among others.
IMAGE 10: THE SON ALSO RISES. Young Roy Gonzales showed his design skills early, using his school notebooks to sketch and do fashion illsutrations.Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
Froilan “Roy” Gonzales (b. Mar. 23, 1944) remembers distinctly how, as an 8-year old, he started sketching his own designs in his school notebooks. He was just 13 when the House of R.T. Paras opened in Quezon City. Although not a stranger to the comings and goings in the house—client consultations, design discussions, cutting, sewing, endless fittings--the pace of activities have quickened at an accelerated rate. And, he was absorbing, as he was observing everything with much interest.
Roy’s horizons expanded when his mother took him to her trips abroad, traveling to such places as Hong Kong, Egypt and Europe, with the last making the most impression on him. He was an Economics sophomore at the Ateneo when he made up his mind to help continue the legacy left behind by his grandmother, now in the able hands of his hardworking mother. And so, still in his teens, he decided to study Fashion Design in Paris no less, home to the world’s leading fashion houses.
IMAGE 11: PARIS, HERE I COME. Roy Gonzales was admitted to the hallowed fashion school, Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
Roy enrolled at the famed Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, a fashion school founded in 1927. For almost four decades, the school have been turning young talents into polished, highly-skilled professionals who are seen to chart the course of fashion and the fashion industry. Beginning in 1960, the school started creating international affiliations, paving the way for Roy, a Filipino, to be a student of the school.
His first place award for school year 1963-1964 drew the attention of Pierre Cardin, the French-Italian designer who would take the fashion world by storm for his avant-garde unisex creations—including the bubble dress launched in 1954. Taking an interest in Roy’s talents, he handpicked him for an interview one day in June 1964. Roy strode in to meet Monsieur Cardin armed with his sketches, that so impressed the design icon that he hired him on the spot.
The Filipino designer, who had just turned 20, was quickly put to work on the Spring Summer Collection of the House of Cardin. The Op Art collection reflected the rage of Paris at that time, marked by stark, geometrical patterns, with a bold splash of orange and yellow, the colors of the season. Unlike in Manila, it was not just the dresses that Roy designed, but also the accessories to go along with the look, including hats, jewelry and shoes.
As Cardin’s lone fashion designer, Roy reported daily at the Cardin workshop that occupied a whole building along Rue du Fauborge Sainte-Honore, on Paris’ 5th Avenue. He worked directly under Cardin, and a small staff that includes a business director (who took care of contracts involving the sale of patterns to American department stores), two Frenchwomen and a Swiss who staged Cardin’s fashion shows.
His rigid schedule begins from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and then from 2:00 pm. to 7 p.m., a full 8 hours that involved sketching and designing. Cardin would then choose the ones he liked for production. In his first attempts, only a few would be selected by Cardin from his scores of design. Being a quick learner, he was soon averaging about 5 approved designs for every 10 sketches submitted. “I think I know Cardin’s taste by now”, he says, “which is for me an accomplishment”. The cutters and seamstresses are then put to work to execute the design, and when finished, are shown off by models to prospective clients.
IMAGE 13: TWO TERNOS, by Roy T. Gonzales. Even in a foreign land, Roy also designed Filipiniana pieces. These ternos, designed 40 years apart, shows a tri-colored terno and a terno specially designed for her mother, Inang. Images: Sunday Times Magazine/ A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
In the six years (1964-1970) with Cardin, Roy got to know many high-profile customers of Cardin, like actresses Jeanne Moreau (who was romantically linked with his boss), Greek superstar Melina Mercouri, Natalie Wood, Bridget Bardot, Mme. Dewi Sukarno and Mme. Claude Jacqueline Pompidou, First Lady of Prance.
From the House of Cardin, Roy worked for a year (1972-1973) at the House of Cerruti, founded by Italian stylist Nino Cerruti. As an assistant modéliste (model maker), he created the patterns of a garment based on a sketched design, which showed his cutting skills at his best.
IMAGE 14: JUDOKA JACKET of white cotton pique damask, edged in braid over pleated black satin trousers. Jean Patou designed by Roy Gonzales. 1978. Image: https://www.shrimptoncouture.com
It was at the House of Patou that Roy’s star would shine even brighter. The venerable couture house was founded by designer Jean Patou, who died unexpectedly in March 1936. His sister Madeleine, together with husband Raymond Barbas, continued the House of Patou which have come to include world- renowned designers like Marc Bohan (1954–1956), Karl Lagerfeld (1960–1963) and Jean Paul Gaultier (1971–1973).
Enter Roy Gonzales, now with more fire, more experience tucked under his belt. Starting as a modéliste, he proved his worth for five years, where his technical wizardry in design served him well, indeed.
IMAGE 15: PATOU IN THE PHILIPPINES! Roy T. Gonzales, design head of the House of Patou, brought the Jean Patou Collection to Philippines in 1976. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
In 1976, Roy returned to the Philippines, to stage a homecoming fashion show at Hotel Intercon featuring his designs worn by statuesque Patou models. The show was a smash hit; Manila revelled in his international success, which further elevated the quality high-fashion reputation of the House of R. T. Paras. The next year, Roy was finally named design head of Patou, thus establishing him firmly as a world-class fashion genius.
In the summer of 1977, Roy presented his summer collection for Patou that was hailed as “one of its prettiest collections in recent years”. Here, he deftly replaced traditional blouses with little waistcoats. He also featured a lot of strapless dresses which doubled as evening skirts when dropped from bust to hip. Singled out as Patou's best was a fluttery shirt of red-striped beige over a red dotted beige skirt and topped by a beige canvas waistcoat. The collection was noted for its eminently European, ultra-feminine look.
He made quite a splash at the fall couture show held in July 1977 in Paris with such eye-turning numbers such as a vest made of feathered patchwork and a batwing cardigan sweater. In the 1978 editorial of Vogue Paris, his sumptuous designs for Patou were featured on the pages magazine considered as a fashion bible.
IMAGE 16: GET WELL SOON! An illness forced Roy to slow down and check-in at a French rest house where he would convalesce. While recovering, he was visited by his mother Inang. Photo: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
But a debilitating illness befell Roy, which would hound him for months, so in 1981, he took off from work to recover in a country home in France where his mother, Inang, visited him. His convalescence however, took more time than usual, and he sadly decided to quit the House of Patou in 1982, and return to the Philippines for a much needed rest. Roy would be succeeded by the equally brilliant Christian Lacroix as design head in 1982, and who, in a matter of years, become a fashion superstar.
Back on his feet in 1982, Roy returned to Paris and was signed up as by Dorothée Bis as its modeliste-stylist . The ready-to-wear house was founded by Jacqueline and Elie Jacobson in 1962. It would earn repute for its stylish sportswear line, that included knits.
In 1984, he would start a long and illustrious career at Lecoanet Hemant, which was founded by Didier Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar in the ’80s, right on the street where Roy first worked for Cardin, close to the Elysée Palace. The fashion house became known for a unique style that mixed eastern and western elements, most evident in the drapings reminiscent of the Asian sari, that characterized most of their creations.
IMAGE 17: ROY IN THE PARIS METRO, after a 1984 Didier Lecoanet Hemant Sagar fashion show 1984. Photo: Jean-luce Huré, http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/
Draping was one of Roy’s area of expertise being a superbly-skilled technician, and he would leave his mark in this haute couture house that was patronized by European aristocrats, Middle eastern blue-bloods, as well as the international jet set crowd. He would stay with Lecoanet Hemant until 1998.
By then, Roy’s mother Inang was already 86 years old. Away for more than three decades, he finally decided to come home for good in 1998 to spend time with her. It was also the perfect time to take over the reins of the R.T. Paras Couture House which her mother had so productively ran by herself with her loyal staff, and which had set a record by becoming the longest continuing haute couture shop in the country. Indeed, the name “R.T. Paras” was top-of-mind when it came to creating opulent wedding gowns, smart corporate attire, suits and formal wear.\
IMAGE 18: HER MOTHER’S SON. Roy Gonzales and her mother Josefina Gonzales at the pinnacle of their success, Photo: Ruppert Jacinto, A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.
On November 9, 2002, on what would have been the 90th birthday of Inang Gonzales, the House of R.T. Paras celebrated its 100th year, marked with a spectacular fashion show and an exhibit of vintage Paras gowns at the NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio. The beaming Roy chose to call it a “family reunion”, as it was attended by many patrons of the house, veritable members of Manila’s who’s who.
Roy Gonzales now holds high the torch of the esteemed fashion business that was begun a century ago by his Apung Belta and his beloved mother, Inang. But he also keeps the fire close to his heart, as he strives to continue the legacy of the house—now solely his own.
These days, Roy has totally immersed himself in the local fashion scene, and his couture creations been seen everywhere—from the President’s State-of-the-Nation Address to gala balls and fashion runways. Part of his continuing journey is his mission to share and impart his couture knowledge to budding designers and students. In 2010, Roy was one of the mentors in the Designer Fashion Workshops organized by fashion professionals in collaboration with iacademy.
The trailblazing Filipino who conquered the leading fashion houses of Europe and who paved the way for other local designers to leave their mark in the international fashion scene, can afford to rest on his laurels, no doubt. But he chooses not to, for while he holds high the torch of the fashion business started a century ago by his Lola Belta and Inang, he also keeps the fire close to his heart. Now infused with the lifeblood of three generations, the House of R.T. Paras lives on.
Gutierrez, Lydia C., The Wizard of Op. Sunday Times Magazine, May 8, 1966, pp. 50-51.
A Century of Couture, R.T. Paras 1902-2002, Le Recueil des Anniversaires
Tayag, Claude. My Tita Inang, TURO-TURO column, 6 October 2002 https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2002/10/06/178780/my-tita-inang
https://prabook.com/web/froilan_tayag.gonzales/775456
Shrimpton Couture: Photos of Patou Designs,
https://www.shrimptoncouture.com/blogs/curated/shadows-and-lights-on-the-new-evening
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