ONE way or another, crochet has become a part of a girl’s life. This art could have been part of the string of requirements at school, or a hobby learned at home during summer. Often times, fabrics done by crochet are found in homes, crafted by the skilled hands of one’s grandparent. And like other kinds of skills, it’s an art that can be passed on from generation to generation.
While some are often resigned to the idea of applying this craft mostly in making the house a home (designing creative crochet pieces for appliances or other furniture), in the God-given and talented hands of Jojo Martinez, it was taken to a most unexpected place in the world of fashion. For someone who learned the trade at an early age and having been in the industry for decades, it was a vision coming to life that quite a number of Cebuanos had the privilege of witnessing.
Putting crochets on the spotlight, she wowed fashion mavens last Aug. 11 as she launched her wedding gowns that night in a show called Love and Passementerie: A Bridal Collection by Jojo Martinez in partnership with Zonta Club of Cebu II at the Cebu Grand Ballroom, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu. Models walked the runway dressed in gowns with crocheted motifs through passementerie, which the designer considers the ultimate application of crochet. She shared that incorporating crochet on wedding gowns really highlighted the details more, making them stand out. It’s those details crafted in all 15 gowns that serve as a testament of the many ways crochet can be applied, in this case, for the modern bride.
More than just fashion, the show bears a cause as it aims to provide a livelihood program to many women. With the waning demand for crochet in the market, along goes the skill and means of livelihood as well. It is through this collaboration, by incorporating a market in the world of weddings, that the art of crochet is preserved and in turn the trade created by this art form for many women adept at this will be sustained.