It was a collection that paid homage to vintage Halston and Elie Saab in one breath while asserting the design aesthetics and silhouettes that designer Eric Delos Santos has perfected through his many seasons in Philippine Fashion Week.

His Spring/Summer 2013 show opened with a melancholic Marina Benipayo draped in grace against the wall before walking to melody of a harmonic male rendition of Patti Austin’s “If I Believe.” As the she went on, Marina’s mood picked up and by the end of it, she was smiling with renewed hope.

That walk set the tone for Eric’s show, somber to enlightened, as the collection continued to make its way to the runway. The first batch of  black embellished lace dresses with Latin Grotesque patterns and silver detailing (giving the impression of faux velvet) were later on balanced by a series of Greco-inspired drape dresses and rompers with rope and flower detail (A nod to classic Halston drapery and Elie Saab’s Spring 2011 Couture line, perhaps?) The palette progressed into a series of jewel tones including orange, Palatinate blue, pink, and turquoise, and zaffre, before returning to the light with an encrusted silver gown. The collection ended as elegantly as it began, and Eric Delos Santos continues his grand tradition of dressing women with grace.—DEXYLEBOWSKI

Photographed by Bruce Casanova