On the evening of September 6th, the Preview Ball showcased a parade of celebrities and industry figures dressed in their most imaginative interpretations of skin-tone formal attire. Among the notable attendees was Webby Award winner and "lumpia queen" Abi Marquez, who brought her own distinct flair to the event. Our July 2024 Preview In Focus cover girl embraced the theme of “authenticity” with a custom-made, high-slit satin number, aptly called the "Oil Dress."
Designed by Ziv Rei Alexi and styled by Gee Jocson, the dress’ defining feature was its oil-inspired embellishments, adorning the right side with a visually striking effect. In an exclusive interview with Preview, Ziv shared how he meticulously studied the way oil interacts with liquids, specifically drawing inspiration from soy sauce and oil packets of instant noodles. His goal was to create an organic, fluid pattern for the dress that echoed the way the two elements would naturally meld together.
Read on and see how Abi’s team brought their unique take on the “skin tone” creative formal dress code.
LOOK: The Making of Abi Marquez’s “Oil Dress” for the Preview Ball 2024
According to fashion director and stylist Gee Jocson, the concept stemmed from a harmony between femininity and Abi's love for food. “I wanted the look to be as authentic as possible so the designer that I thought could pull this off with me is Ziv Rei Alexi,” Gee states. To bring the vision to life, Gee focused on four key elements: flower petals, water, perfume, and oil.
Gee’s inspiration began with an observation about flowers. “Petals are the most admired part of the flower, but their purpose is to protect the reproductive core,” she notes. The water reference, on the other hand, reflected Abi’s laidback, and inherently calm demeanor—a subtle contrast to her already "powerful" presence in the content creation industry. “There’s something about her energy that represents calmness, na people could relate to her very quickly. So I wanted to put that detail sa clothes niya,” Gee expressed.
Another significant influence behind the "Oil Dress" was the 2006 fantasy-thriller film Perfume, which tells the story of French perfumer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who memorably covers a woman with animal fat to try to capture the distinct essence of a woman. Drawing from this, Gee sought to evoke a similar concept through Abi’s ensemble, ultimately leading to the creation of the “Oil Dress.”
“The vision was to create a [form of] second skin for Abi,” designer Ziv Rei Alexi further explains. With the ball’s theme centered around “authenticity,” Gee and Ziv felt it was fitting to incorporate an element that reflected Abi's identity as a food content creator. Thus, the oil-like pattern became the central design element. “The embellishments were crafted to represent the chemical reaction between oil and water,” Ziv explains.
To match Abi's skin tone, Ziv opted for a dyed-back satin fabric as the base. The oil-inspired details were meticulously hand-sculpted, molded, and colored using alcohol inks by Louise Marfil, with hand embroidery and assistance from Migs Balingit, Pau Navera, and Jan Villalon. “It took nearly three weeks to complete the garments, from initial research to the final embellishments,” Ziv reveals.
To achieve a more natural look, Ziv carefully studied every piece in the adornment. His unlikely reference? Instant noodles packets. “We even experimented with oil and soy sauce packets from Pancit Canton to simulate the interaction of [the two] liquids,” Ziv shares.
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