MANILA, Philippines -- As the streets of the Makati financial district filled up with protesters on Friday afternoon, the ballroom of the Shangri-La Makati was rolling out the red carpet for Manila's Who's Who to fete the only Filipino fashion designer, Josie Cruz-Natori, to have become a global brand.

The street crowd was out to right what's wrong with the Filipino.

The suited set in the hotel ballroom sought to acknowledge what's right about the Filipino. One hoped that neither of the two intentions--coming from two opposite ends of the social spectrum--was lost in the din of the moment.

"Our biggest asset are our people, our talent. We must unite over that, at least," Natori said.

This picture of irony was not lost on many who happened to be in Makati that Friday when the benefit dinner/show, "The Art of Natori," was staged by the Asian Cultural Council and the Asian Society. Coincidentally, Natori, the fashion house started by former banker Natori, is celebrating its 30th year. This was also Natori's first show in her home country in more than a decade.

Consisting of more than 100 pieces (ensembles and coordinates), the fashion collection was of a caliber the country hasn't seen in years, even for jaded fashionistas. The fashion--indeed the art--was in a league of its own, in terms of design, fabric selection, diversity, but most important to us Filipinos, in terms of Filipino craftsmanship.

For Natori, the foremost compliment also came the next morning when Hong Kong's style icon and retail tycoon Joyce Ma bought a sizeable part of the collection.

Not mass production

One couldn't help but take pride in the knowledge that the exquisite art was executed by embroiderers and beaders in Pasig, where the Natori factory remains to this day. This is an encouraging thought in this day and age when China has killed any Filipino entrepreneur's attempt at mass production.

"It is not in mass production but in fine craftsmanship where Filipinos can excel," Natori told us after the show. "And what makes our craftsmanship special, what gives it the edge, is the sophistication, the touch of modernity."

Natori uses Filipino craftsmanship in, for instance, embroidery, for the prints and designs in her rich archives--from 18th century prints to illustrations and graphics that the House of Natori has produced the past 30 years.

Indeed, the Natori collection bore the seamless blending of East and West that has always been the distinct identity enjoyed by Natori in the cutthroat world of the international fashion industry. Not only was the opening parade of lingerie tasteful, it was also elegant.

It is widely known that Natori's entry into the fashion industry was through night shirts made in the Philippines that she sold in New York retail. In time, the banker, the first woman vice president of Merryl Lynch, would leave banking to design luxurious lingerie. In Natori's hands, innerwear could also be elegant outerwear that a woman could wear outside her boudoir and at social functions.

From innerwear and sleepwear, Natori expanded into elegant fashion accessories, and in recent years, into a home line--throws, bedsheets--and now in ready-to-wear, and even a men's line. These were all shown in last Friday's well-produced show (she tapped the seasoned producer of Oscar de la Renta).

In a pace that never dragged, out came the 30 models in lingerie, robes, cocktail wear, evening wear, casual skirts and tops from her just-launched Natorious RTW line, and the men in slacks and shorts. They were in the finest silks, laces and other elegant fabrics. At certain points, the models lugged richly designed blankets or pillow covers.

"The idea," Natori said, "was to show that even you can drape a throw on your shoulders, and it comes out as a shawl."

Natural materials

Her accessories such as necklaces and bangles were of wood, shell, mother of pearl, jade and other natural material, constructed exquisitely.

Natori agreed to do the fund-raising show to benefit the Filipino artists who are funded by the Asian Cultural Council of which she is a trustee. For several decades now, ACC has given grants to artists all over Asia. It was initially funded by the Rockefellers.

The ACC's chair, Elizabeth McCormack, said before the show that while the world is so divided, the arts remain the only means to unify the world. McCormack was the dean and later president of New York's Manhattanville College where Natori took up economics.

Imelda Marcos at head table

The evening had an interesting guest mix. At the presidential table were Imelda Marcos with Natori's parents, Felipe and Angelita Cruz. At other tables were Imelda Cojuangco, the Tantoco clan of Philippine retail, and Tessie Sy-Coson, the head of Banco de Oro which sponsored the event. Natori even graciously designed a phone pouch for the show's other sponsor, Nokia.