Oliver Tolentino, Designer of “Eco-couture”

Spotlight on eco- fashion by Oliver Tolentino, featured in IRK’s print issue Touché in “Letters from Nature.”

Oliver Tolentino, an acclaimed Filipino-American fashion designer, has built his name around “eco-couture” and red-carpet creations. Based in Beverly Hills, California, he modernizes traditional Philippine fabrics into high-fashion gowns and suits.
Such as piña (pineapple fiber), abaca, and water-lily fabric, turning them into high-fashion gowns and suits. Oliver is a pioneer in sustainable fashion. In fact he often uses hand-woven materials that support Filipino artisans and weavers in provinces like Bataan and Laguna. In addition, he is a frequent designer for major awards shows like the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Grammys. Stars such as Jessica Alba, Carrie Underwood, Fergie, and Emmy Rossum have chosen to wear his designs.

IRK: Your pieces celebrate the beauty of the handmade. What first drew you to incorporating artisanal craftsmanship into your design language. Why is this language important to you as a designer?

Oliver Tolentino: My ancestry as a Filipino American infuses everything I do as a designer. In the Philippines, international brands didn’t arrive until just within the past two decades. Historically, the culture there is all about dressing up for parties. We got very good at creating our own couture for events and galas.

IRK: What is your favorite aspect of ‘touch’ that you aim to highlight in your design practice and why?

Oliver Tolentino: I love incorporating couture finishes, especially using eco items like historical fabrics made from piña and abaca .

IRK: How has your connection to handcraft evolved over time?

Oliver Tolentino: At first it was more practical in making clothes. Now it’s more a choice to be intricate and couture.

IRK: Your designs feature traditional handcraft details that also feel deeply personal. How do you balance honoring those artisanal traditions while bringing a modern design sensibility to your pieces?

Oliver Tolentino: Whenever I use piña, fabric made by looming fibers from the green leaves of the Spanish red pineapple. Which has been used for over 300 years in the Philippines. I modernize the look so it doesn’t look like something we’re used to seeing or an older style. Instead, I take the fabric and manipulate and cut it. All in a way where you don’t even realize it’s an unusual, eco fabric.

IRK: In an age of mass production, speed, and fast fashion, you’ve chosen to intentionally slow things down. Step away from the fashion zeitgeist. What do you feel your intentionality of handcraft brings to your wearer’s experience?

Oliver Tolentino: I create for those who appreciate couture, hand-made work, and the elegant, timeless art of fashion.

Credits

Fashion Designer: Oliver Tolentino + Flying Solo PR @theolivertolentino @flyingsolopr
Creative Director + Collage Artist: Stacy Seiler @mywestvillagelife

Photographer: Jeff Mikkelson @jeffmikkelson
Stylist + Editor-at-Large: Cannon, The Cannon Media Group @thecannonmediagroup
Makeup: Kelley Quan of Kramer + Kramer @kelleyquan1 @kramerandkramer
Hair: Hikari Tezuka of Art Department @thebesthikari @artdeptbeautystyle
Model: Quinn Knapp of Wilhelmina @quinn_knapp @wilhelminamodels
Assistant: Sarina Hingorani @sarina_hingorani