Prominent women such as Zelda Kienle, Frannie Jacinto, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Linda Ley, Rissa Mananquil-Trillo and Marivic Vazquez, among others, show their love for Criselda by joining professional models on the ramp to model the designer’s 2018 holiday collection. An in-house staple of Rustan’s for more than three decades now, the Criselda Lontok label is said to be the luxury department store chain’s most salable home-grown brand.
Veteran fashion designer Criselda Lontok lives and breathes art. To her, fashion is a true art form and, for the past 35 years now, a means to convey and radiate an artistic expression that’s uniquely her own. Her work as Rustan’s in-house designer, including her early years working under the tutelage of Rustan’s matriarch and founder Gliceria Rustia-Tantoco, has widened her range of styles, which are at once elegant and timeless. A palpable artistry can be seen in even the smallest detail of a Criselda Lontok piece.
A Muse and a Maker
More than just a brand, Criselda is an artist in her own right, a design icon who epitomizes the personality of both muse and maker. A former model herself, she has dressed generations of Manila’s most fashionable and influential women and is the beloved ready-to-wear designer of Philippine high society.
As Criselda celebrates her 35 years of transformative style, she boldly looks forward into the future, the next generation of women—young influential ladies, who look up to their mothers as their own personal style icons. Many of them are the very same women who have followed and stayed true to Criselda’s style philosophy since the label was created 35 years ago. This year, once again, a breathtaking new vision emerges from the chrysalis. Rebirth begets reinvention—and the exhilarating cycle begins anew.
“The most precious lesson I learned all these years as a designer is that style and comfort should never be a paradox, but a fusion. Customer satisfaction should be first and foremost together with the elegance and practicality of the designs.” Lontok says.
Feminine and Strong: Holiday 2018
This inimitable fusion of style and comfort, fluid and structured, modern and classic recently recently took center stage at the Peninsula Manila’s Rigodon Ballroom. “Criselda Lontok Holiday 2018” collection was a stunning assemblage of designs that now include statement pieces–from Maria Clara-inspired tops with contemporary structures, to long gowns that not only flattered their wearers’ figures, but also doubled as versatile separates. With the blending of bright colors and bold, chic prints with modern and classic designs, this timeless collection is made for the Criselda Woman—beautiful, stylish and feminine.
In this new collection, which was modeled by professional mannequins and prominent members of Manila’s social set, Criselda marks another milestone in her illustrious career, as she as she demonstrated anew why her brand remains synonymous to elegance and sophistication.
(The Criselda Lontok Holiday 2018 Collection will be available by first week of September at Rustan’s Makati, Shangri-la, Alabang, Gateway and Cebu.)
