Leo Almodal on transforming every woman with his art and masterpiece
Almost every woman’s dream is to be a Princess once in her lifetime. Whether it’s her birthday, debut, or her wedding, it’s simply a must to make her feel like a royal on her special day. As a fashion godfather, Leo Almodal certainly knows that. Let’s get to know how this creative genius pleases and spoils his clientele with luxury and class!
Leo Almodal making his client’s dream come true
As a newbie in fashion designing, Leo did not take the easy road and worked hard towards his dreams. He started as a ghost designer in the Middle East for 9 years. After that, he established his own brand here in our country. It took him 17 years of hard work and 8 years to build his name.
All throughout his experience, he treats every client equally, with no prejudice of their social status, color, religion, culture, or gender. Leo makes their wishes come true if they want to look royal, elegant, extravagant, sexy, timeless, and classy. He always listens to their ideas and collaborates with them to bring their vision to life. He has to make sure they feel confident and beautiful in his creations.
On their meeting, he asks first each of his clients how they would like to see themselves during that event. He also inquires if they have an inspiration in mind, pictures, or videos of their peg. With that, he gets a good grasp of their personal taste and style.
However, he sees to it that he gives them professional advice to amplify their idea with a touch of magic. Leo fondly describes his job as a fairy godfather, the one who makes them look breath-taking and happy. He uses crystals to embellish his designs but he emphasizes the importance of a perfect fit. His inspiration roots from the beauty and happiness of his clients. Not to mention, he’s very passionate about it and at the same time enjoy the creation process.
As for his signature design, we all know if Leo Almodal made the dress or gown. He loves combining jewelry design with couture fashion. As a result, he makes elegant, classy, sexy, figure-flattering, intricate, luxurious, bejeweled, and bedazzled masterpieces. Some people doubt that he can make that happen because they think there’s too much going on. But Leo noted:
“My design is based on ‘the rule of thirds’ where the styling and the dress give emphasis and highlights the beauty of the wearer.”
Leo Almodal also mentioned his fashion pet peeves to us and he calls them “chismis”. He’s pertaining to the uncut thread, peeking petticoat, too many details not in harmony. He also hates color mismatch, too long or too short dresses, crumpled clothes. All of them are eyesores for him as a meticulous designer.
The value of strong will to survive and loyalty to his people
Pandemic definitely hit the Philippine fashion industry and Leo’s business of course. People canceled and postponed events, including their gown orders. That left us only a few things to work on from March to June. They got by with just 2 or 3 orders of wedding gowns that thankfully pushed through. This situation pushed Leo to plan and schedule each tailor to 4 days of work, instead of 6 days. Just to make sure that everyone still has a job. He does not want to lose even his workers because of the crisis. Slowly, people became able to adjust to the new normal.
“Brave souls still get married, practicing social distancing. I am grateful to God for His love and grace that we are healthy and blessed.”
For final words during the interview, we asked Leo for a piece of advice for budding Filipino designers. He shared:
“From the start of your career/business, it will take 7 years before you’ll get a return of investment and be recognized. You have to be hardworking, strong-willed, steadfast, and resilient to survive. Once you give up and stop then it’s game over and back to zero. It’s continuous learning, it’s a fierce, ruthless, and competitive world to be involved in so be strong.”
There are no words enough to capture Leo Almodal’s brilliance and dedication to his work. Truly, his masterpieces and satisfied clients are proof that he deserves all the fame and recognition.
Do you guys agree?
Photographer: Artem Levy
Coordinator: Richard Sumait
