Edgar San Diego

An established fashion designer of over 40 years, Edgar San Diego started his long romance with painting by incorporating delicate flora onto his beautiful Filipiniana gowns. Hand-painting in fashion became so popular in the 1980s that other designers would come to him to have their creations made even more exquisite with his fine brushstrokes. As with all fashion trends, hand-painting eventually gave way to other forms of embellishment, and with that, San Diego put away his paintbrushes. However, when the pandemic hit in 2020 and the fashion industry was left at a standstill, he revived his old passion, but instead of flowing fabric, he painted on canvass. Fashion, however, still held a strong influence on his obras, as his pieces depicted a dusky Filipina beauty (inspired by his young daughter Abby) in Filipiniana attire, celebrating the many Filipino traditions like the “pamamanhikan’ (courtship),”kasalan” (wedding) and the various festivals our country is known for.

Last October 2021, San Diego held his first one-man exhibit entitled “Baro’t Saya, Tuwa at Ligaya” at the Mega Fashion Hall of the SM Megamall. In an interview with the local press, the artist-designer stated that his works are personal statements on nationalism. “My paintings are unchanging in their presentation of Filipiniana themes, evident in the costumes, furniture, settings and scenarios that find their way onto my canvass. These are expressions of my love for country and its history,” he added.

In this exhibit, San Diego will be presenting the same themes, but this time in mixed media. Aside from painting on layered canvasses with his preferred acrylic, he also studied to create his own resin-molds. He incorporated them together with other elements like fabric to achieve multi-dimensional artworks. These paintings will center on religion, love and fantasy, which like his past runway creations, reveal the intricacies of his art.