Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel once said that she likes “fashion to go down to the street,” but she “can’t accept it should originate there.”
 
Coco Chanel obviously did not know Adelaida De Pedro and Marc Rancy.
 
Business administration graduate De Pedro tracked a less traveled road and ventured into fashion design in the late 70’s. She thought she would be a company manager or have a career in banking and finance when she graduated from the University of the East in 1974.
 
But she still did not pursue the path she planned, “My first job right after I graduated was a researcher for Asia Research, I was literally waiting and sitting at the roadside all day counting how many Rabbit buses would pass by Cabanatuan highway,” De Pedro said as she recalled how she would be tired and sweaty from work.
 
But she quit her research job after two years because she did not get to see her family any more. 
 
De Pedro applied for another job as a stock clerk in Eastland, a garments factory where her sister-in-law was working. She did not know it would eventually lead her to becoming a fashion designer.
 
“My sister-in-law who was at that time a manager gave me all the answers to the test, but of course, I purposely made two mistakes,” she laughingly admitted. De Pedro giggled saying she scored highest in the exam out of more than 20 examinees. 
 
The owner of the company was impressed by the results of her exam and also her demeanor during the interview. But it was De Pedro’s integrity that impressed him most. “I told him the truth about my exam, and he hired me for my honesty.”
 
De Pedro, who now co-manages a laundry business, resigned from Eastland in 2002 because of undisclosed reasons. But she said that it was through being a designer that her “world opened up and became more beautiful.”
 
Learning to sketch
 
As far as design goes, all she did before was making hand-crafted birthday cards and give them to her officemates and to her boss and making mosaics for Eastland’s foreign visitors.
 
She said that she was having an easy time at her job which is why she was able to make such designs.
 
The company owner saw her work and asked her to draw up some sketches for children’s wear. “I did a lot of crafty things. But sketching? That I cannot do,” she said.
 
Their foreign partner, whom she called Mr. McLean, described her first try a “material for a circular can.”
 
“A circular can is the Filipino’s basurahan,” she said pouting cheerfully.
 
But this did not stop her from trying her hand at designing. “My Filipino boss said I had taste so I was confident I could design. Besides, my research work was based in Makati, so I had the Makati style,” she explained.
 
Sideline
 
Marc Rancy has a similar story to tell.
 
A boutique named after him stands in the outskirts of Makati. The glamorous store seems out of place in the gray, smoggy street of Gil Puyat Avenue.
 
“I love glamour. Ever since, I loved watching stars go down the red carpet in their stunning gowns,” said designer and storeowner Marc Rancy in his boutique.
 
Rancy, an evening and wedding gown designer, never thought of becoming a fashion designer. He loved to draw but as a child, he wanted to be an architect. But in college he thought of joining the corporate world and took Multimedia Arts at the College of St. Benilde .
 
In Benilde, he met an interesting person who was taking up design courses and who taught him how to sketch and color dresses. “I started designing dresses for fun and I was doing it as my sideline while I was studying and I thought, ‘Wow, with the money I get for every creation, I could make a living out of this,’” he said.

When he opened up to his parents about wanting be a fashion designer they were worried about how he would continue with his studies. “I was already making a lot of money, I thought I could make more if I concentrate on this rather than go to school,” Rancy said.
 
“I put my mind into anything I do, and I am very serious. I showed my parents I could really do this,” he said with a determined look on his face.
 
Three years ago, business-minded Rancy stopped going to school. He bought his first set of sewing machines with the money he got from designing office uniforms.
 
“I didn’t know how to sew or cut patterns. Until now I am learning. Because the reality is [that] you can hire anyone to do it, but what you can’t ask others to do for you is to design,” he said.
 
He gathered people to sew for him and also established contacts with fabric suppliers. His supportive parents lent him money to fix up his boutique and initial rent for the place.
 
The very young entrepreneur is now the president and CEO of his own company, Luxewear International, Inc. and has presented his collections in three seasons of Philippine Fashion Week.
 
“That is when I realized I am a real designer. When I was in fashion week hobnobbing with the veterans, I was very intimidated but at the same time happy because they come up to me saying they have heard great things about me,” said Rancy who continues to exceed veteran designers’ expectations by showcasing intricately designed gowns.
 
International market
 
With creativity and determination, the works of both De Pedro and Rancy have made it to the international market.
 
Eastland’s American partner, Nanette Clothing, carried De Pedro’s children’s wear and her pieces were sold at JC Penney and Sears.
 
“My first designs were bought by JC Penney and Sears. I gained confidence and felt I was a real, certified designer,” De Pedro said.
 
During the 80’s, Eastland broke its partnership with its American partner. This opened the doors to the European market.
 
“I was so happy because my works were seen in English brands Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Next UK, Australia and many more,” she said.

Posh shopping center Harrod’s, which carried the line of English designer Michael de Leon, also featured De Pedro’s designs for Eastland.
 
Meanwhile, with just three years into the fashion business, Rancy opened a boutique in the United States . His American business partner manages his Manhattan store specializing in wedding gowns.
 
“The reason why we are making a lot of money from our store is because a lot of Americans are looking for quality, custom-made designs especially now that there is a global financial crisis,” he said.
 
“The biggest difference between American and Filipino designers is that we cater to whatever the customer wants. We Filipinos are like that. That is our niche,” Rancy said.
 
Rancy laughed saying, “this dress costs only P8,000 here but in America they will buy it for P20,000,” showing an evening dress made of pineapple silk in silver and gold.
 
Making it your own
 
De Pedro learned from working in fashion and going around the world that, “in fashion, you don’t have to be original.”
 
“Ideas are recycled. All cuts are the same, but the challenge is to create a new model through your exposure to different ideas,” she explained “All flowers look the same, but adding your own touch will make them uniquely yours.”
 
What makes Rancy’s dresses stand out are his embellishments. “In other countries, they do not have our pineapple silk, or real pearl beads. I mix and match everything to either make a dress more urban or more glamorous,” he said holding the first ever gown he made with deep green hued silk and lace trimmings as well as sparkling pearl beads.
 
In fashion, learning is never-ending. “It was such a challenge in the beginning to know the universal fashion terms, different cloths, especially for my then-barok, probinsyana self,” De Pedro said.
 
Fashion is not all about beauty and living the high life. “There are financial concerns, too. More than anything, you need to have good gut feel and you need to be street smart,” he said.
 
Rancy said that his most difficult challenge is turning around shy clients who lack self-confidence. “When you design, you want the person to flaunt her assets, not hide them. I think it is such a challenge to make them feel confident,” he said.
 
Confidence is what De Pedro also lacked before. But after being exposed to the fashion world for more than 25 years, “I finally got to converse well with others, I could talk to them about my trips and what a wonderful world it is out there for everyone to explore,” she said. 
 
Colorful world

Both De Pedro and Rancy dove into the deep waters of fashion despite having no previous educational background or experience.
 
“My love for color is really what got me through the tough task of squeezing my brain for new ideas. It is the perfect combination of hues that makes an outfit memorable,” said De Pedro.
 
“Color is the slim line that makes the outfit in style or out,” she said. De Pedro always changes the colors of her house walls almost every year.
 
For Rancy it was in coloring his sketches that made him want to do more.
 
“My designer friend taught me how to properly color a sketch. I couldn’t stop after that. I wanted more,” he exclaimed. “I needed to become a designer,” Rancy said.
 
Although De Pedro is now retired, she would never forget how her life changed after being a fashion designer, “My life is more colorful, during my work I met the love of my life … and I was able to give my children a bright future and send them to the best schools.”
 
De Pedro remembers her colorful past, but Rancy looks at a future filled with nothing but success. “Red is the color of success because it always comes with passion,” he said.

Marc Rancy’s boutique is located at 17 Unit 3 Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati 1200. You can call him at +6324730506. If you are in New York, his boutique is located at 71 West 23rd St. New York, NY 10010 USA. His US boutique number is +1.212.242.7321. Visit his website at www.marcrancy.com.