PH mourns death of ‘Asia’s Fashion Czar’ Pitoy Moreno

  • Page Views 3551
  • Celebrated fashion designer Jose Pitoy Moreno, one of the earliest advocates of the Maria Clara, died on Monday at the age of 87.

    His grandson Paul Jason Cruz first confirmed the news with GMA Network’s prime time newscast “24 Oras” later that day without giving further details on the cause of death.

    The last time Moreno’s health had been reported was in 2014 when he was hospitalized for pneumonia.

    On Tuesday, it was made known that the master of formal Filipiniana had been in and out of the hospital as of late and died of cardiac arrest. Moreno studied fine arts at the University of the Philippines Diliman and popularized the baro, saya, panuelo and tapis, which together comprise the classic Maria Clara.

    Hailed as Asia’s fashion czar, Moreno last appeared in public at a grand fashion tribute for him at Edsa Shangri-La Manila in 2011. It was in this decade that the designer slowed down running his atelier in Malate owing to poor health.

    With an illustrious career that spans over 50 years, Moreno’s fashion designs had been exhibited at the World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington and New York City. His work appeared on the pages of fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Holiday, and Le Figaro, where he introduced the words jusi, piña and lepanto to world fashion.

    Prominent personalities who admired and wore Moreno’s creations, which bore inimitable beadwork, embroidery as well as hand-paintings, included beauty queens, most first ladies of the Philippines and the United States—Nancy Reagan and Pat Nixon —and the world’s royalty such as Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Queen Margarretta of Bulgaria and Princess Margaret of Britain to name a few.

    Moreno will also be remembered as the first president of the Philippine Couture Association, the very first association of fashion designers in Manila.

    In 2009, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared Moreno the second National Artist for Fashion Design after Ramon Valera in 2006.

    However, awarding on this batch—which included theater proponent Cecile Guidote Alvarez and filmmaker Carlo J. Caparas—was met with protest and controversy that the Supreme Court was forced to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the conferment. The TRO has not been lifted up to now.

    As of press time, details of his wake and funeral have yet to be announced.

    I. Iglesias, TMT

    Share

    New Posts Recently publish post More

    • 29 March 2023
      3 hours ago No comment

      Romnick, Elijah deserving of acting awards

      Elijah Canlas won several best actor awards both here and abroad for “Kalel, 15,” directed by Jun Lana. He is now reunited with Jun in “About Us But Not About Us,” a veritable acting duel between him and Romnick Sarmenta. At the press preview, everyone agrees both Elijah and ...

    • 29 March 2023
      3 hours ago No comment

      With 9 short-listed entries: GMA Network leads PH contingent to 2023 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards

        Media giant GMA Network is set to proudly represent the Philippines at the 2023 New York Festivals TV & Film (NYF) Awards with nine entries making it to the short-listed candidates – again earning the most number of nominees for the country. Spanning three decades of blazing the trail in ...

    • 29 March 2023
      3 hours ago No comment

      Until Branches Bend (PG) ****

        Running Time: 1h 38min   Standing Tall!   By Robert Waldman     How nice it is for a Canadian movie to be eventful. Wonders never cease to amaze me. Why even more impressively Telefilm Canada got it right by helping finance Until Branches Bend. Besides helping local ...

    • 29 March 2023
      3 hours ago No comment

      Death Knot (PG)**

        Running time: 101 min.   Cursed!   By Robert Waldman     Nothing brings people closer than family. Or further apart. See a family put through the ringer in the deadly Death Knot which comes out on Jan. 17. Cornelia Sunny ensures audiences don’t have quite the sunny ...

    • 29 March 2023
      3 hours ago No comment

      Kat Alano reacts after SC junked rape, acts of lasciviousness raps vs Vhong Navarro

        Trigger Warning: Contains mentions of terms related to alleged sexual violence  Former model-VJ Kat Alano shared a cryptic tweet after the Supreme Court‘s Third Division dismissed charges filed against television host-actor Vhong Navarro on Monday. The Division in a 43-page ruling dated February 8 ordered the dismissal of the rape and acts of lasciviousness ...

    %d bloggers like this: