Jessan Macatangay Breaks the Norm With Sculptural Sensuality

Central Saint Martin’s MA: Fashion Show returned to London Fashion Week featuring 32 graduates. One collection that stood out was of Filipino designer Jessan Macatangay, winner of the L’Oreal Professional Creative Award, who sent out revealing pieces that featured 3-D structured elements. 

Jessan who grew up in Batangas, was inspired by breaking the conservative norm of dressing up. He claims, “My project started with this fear and discomfort of showing skin. My research began with looking at 90s swimwear advertisements – the clothing that shows and bares skin.  From this, I became intrigued by the history of swimwear design, for men and women, and started looking at much earlier styles that date back to the 1910s – cutouts prevailing.” L’Officiel Philippines speaks to the London-based designer about his collection, his mood board, and the accessories that complemented his clothes.

First of all, congratulations on winning L’Oréal Professional Creative Award, can you tell us about your Sculptural Sensuality collection? What materials did you use for this?

Thank you so much! My collection is about exploring sensuality using restrictive formed objects. I started my research with the idea of Filipino women’s discomfort with showing skin. In our country, where 85% of the population is Roman Catholic, even in 2022, even though it has improved, we are still very modest, especially in the province, and the religion and culture somehow still impose restraints on women, especially on how they dress.

I was also intrigued and inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's sculpture  “Layers of Underwear,” where soft fabrics are stretched and imposed onto hardware. I merged the principles of sensuality and softness with restrictive, harsh, and contrasting materials – almost subconsciously creating a metaphor for the Filipino woman. The hardwire was used to create structured forms symbolizing the restrictiveness of the Catholic church. Three-dimensional layers provide depth while the imposed feminine form gives birth to unexpected tensions, textures, and shapes. Sculptural forms sprout from contrasting layers of crepe jersey stretched by wired frames, existing to mimic a swimsuit's outline, acting as a surrealist manipulation and extension of the body. Most of the frames are shaped into a woman’s body to highlight its shape. One of my favorite aspects of the collection is the skirts which I call “knicker skirts” which are literally a panty and skirt at the same time. The whole collection is made out of jersey. I experimented on quite a few samples. I found this luxurious-looking cotton jersey and decided to use them together with the usual jersey fabrics.

This collection is about making society realize that a woman is more than her body. Clothes exist to accentuate the feminine figure and showcase it in its most lustrous light. I really want these pieces for women who adore sensuality without fearing sexuality; and for the women who long to relax on a beach with their swimsuit, legs, and arms sun-kissed and basking in the light. She does not want to cover up with a t-shirt on the beach. She wants to be free, free of restrictions and imposed judgments.

What's your mood board like?

My mood board consists of lots of swimwear fashion references, specifically 1910-1920s men’s swimwear and one-piece swimsuits from the 90s. There are also images of women I want my work to represent: my favorite is supermodel Anna Bayle’s infamous photo in Boracay shot by Tony Marino. And the rest are development images. 

My work is mostly 3-D. It’s always about making. So, I have images of draping techniques, experimentation, and samples of fabric. The bottom part – and the most important – is the current lineup of the looks I’m making. We’ve done fittings and lineups with our tutors and pattern cutters every week at university for the last two months. It was intense and very fast-paced, so that part always changes depending on the current designs and looks I am working on. 

What type of woman do you imagine wearing this collection?

My inspiration has been formed by the women I grew up around. My mom, my sister, and other family members. Their fashion sense was a bit constrained due to the Catholic mores of the Philippines. I always feel like they couldn’t express themselves the way they wanted because showing flesh was considered risqué and was frowned upon. It was like an unwritten rule that everyone knew and was scared of violating. I want my collection to help give women permission to express themselves as they deep-down want to do. I want my collection to give them the spark of excitement of wearing whatever they want even they show lots of skin. 

The shoes were so much fun to work on because they were the first products I designed with literally my name stamped on them so that was really exciting. I knew would I have to focus on the shoes as another key detail that is more noticeable because most of the looks have really short skirts. The shoes will be seen as much as the garments. I worked with SKUA Studios and they were amazing. As with the hair, I focused on achieving monochromatic looks in all the details. The straps are quite basic because I want the focus on the actual clothes, but I want them to be sexy and fun at the same time. That’s what inspired the unusual sole shapes. I designed quite a few to choose from so I decided to bring some of my friends to my studio and asked them which shapes they would wear. Then we decided together which shapes to produce. The shapes are mostly from shapes I experimented with during my garment development. I made them a bit longer since these are showpieces. 

Overall, the hairpieces and shoes made an impact on my looks, which I was so happy with. I’ve had a lot of interest in the shoes, and it was great to see how one seemingly small aspect can make such a difference to the overall look.