nno Sotto is the fashion industry’s master of new elegance. Simplicity is the essence of Sotto’s design, with his clothes parred down to their essentials: line, cut, and color. Paradoxically, the very austerity of his designs create a sense of opulence, from where his works derives its highly individual statement.

            Sotto started out as a designer quite by chance. He recalls those frequent visits to senior designer Christian Espritu’s shop to accompany his mother who had her clothes made by him. These visits virtually opened Sotto’s eyes to the creative possibilities that the fashion world could offer.

            When Espiritu offered him the post of fashion illustrator. Sotto accepted it with little hesitation. He knew the job would introduce him to the rudiments of designing. This was in the late 1960s, and instead of taking up architecture, Sotto flew to New York City to enroll at the famed Parsons School of Design. He later moved to the West Coast to further his studies at the San Francisco School of Fashion Design where he also took up related courses such as window display and graphics. He joined the U.S. – wide Saga Mink and the California Young Designers Competitions. He won in both. In the latter contest, he was adjudged outstanding young designer.

            His sole purpose in joining those contest was simply “to see how far I can go.” And far indeed has the designer gone.

            Finding himself back in Manila, Sotto started to work on a number of shows for designer-friends. Still, he found the climate less hospitable to his plans; he decided to leave for the United States again. The trips only made him realize even more the need of the local fashion industry to upgrade itself. “it is heroic,” Sotto says, “how we designers have survived all these years. But then I realized I had to meet the problems head on. I told myself to forget about change and to just concentrate on my career.”

            Back in Manila, in 1980, he was voted by an all-foreign board of jurors one of the inners in the Philippine Designers’ Show. The accolade, however, was not enough to make him stay. He left the country once again. When he came back, this time it was for good.

            In the last six years since that last trip, Sotto settled in to finally face up to the challenge of a full-time designing career. Happily, a more discriminating set of clientele has emerged in the fashion industry. The climate could not have been more right for Sotto.

            Today, Sotto has remained quite selective of clients and of the kind of clothes he would create, preferring to work for people whose taste matches his, mostly his friends and friends of friends. This is the reason why he hesitates to go commercial via a ready-to-wear ladies’ line. Typically Sotto. He would rather not make compromises in the name of success. So that even if people seemed to be more appreciative of his work, he is not about to succumb to the dictates of the majority.

            This attitude is reflected in his clothes which are known for either remarkable simplicity. There is not extraneous about his design,” wrote a fashion editor. She added that “onstage, his fashion design teem with confidence, ease, and mightly sense of security. He knows fore sure what look he wanted to present, overflowing with creativity and energy but knowing where and when to stop.”

            An ardent admirer of St. Laurent, Ungaro, Armani, Galanos, and the late Coco Chanel, Sotto believes that every designer worth his golden thimble must aspire to reflect an aspect of his personality in his work, and not simply and easily attempt to please his clients. As he says, “I am not conscious of how come across people who are conscious of my clothes. The impression is not intentional. What is intentional is the output of the designs. It is purposeful, it is intentional, it is something I have worked on.”

            Sotto has had seven solo shows, each one of them a resounding critical success. A recent fashion gala entitled “Sotto Solo,” his first in seven years, revealed a more mature and truly confident designer. Before a highly appreciative audience, he unraveled a collection that confirmed the designer’s coming of age.

            Late last year, Sotto launched his ready-to-wear men’s line. The launching marked his first venture into pret-a-porte dressing. Judging from the reaction of the buyers, Sotto has found a ready market for his fastidiously executed men’s wear. Like his signature clothes, Sotto’s men’s line reflects the designer’s uncompromising fashion philosophy.