JEANS THAT PLEASE

Marissa Alejandro-Lopa
Metro/August 2004

Graphic designer-turned-jeansmaker Viktor Caluza offer custom-made pairs that hide flaws, and make you feel as good as you look.

I think it’s safe to say that there’s more to blue jeans that meets the eye. This piece of clothing is worn by people of all ages, from womb to tomb. The perfect pair can lift the lowest self-image as well as face-lift, I’m told. When denim married Lycra and moved into the stretch era, its following quadrupled. The days when tight fitting jeans were meant only for the perfectly endowed were gone. Forgiving even the bottom-heavy, jeans are must-haves even for the octogenarian.

Still, there are some of us who find that the perfect back pockets to flatter one’s behind may not come with the front pockets to flatter bulging tummy. And as one gets on in years, other problem spots surface that make finding the right pair even more difficult. Atrocious prices for a pair of designer jeans guaranteed to make you feel 10 years younger don’t help, either.

Enter VIKTOR – feel fitter, richer, happier. Now, custom made jeans guaranteed to fit you and only you have arrived. Better still, they come at prices one wouldn’t think twice about coughing up. It’s the brainchild of graphic artist-cum-blue jeans fanatic Victorino “Ino” Caluza, who finally drew the line when he found himself ready to shell out P7900 for a pair of Diesel’s. He figured there must be a better way around this obsession. A good friend employed in a company that developed new denim fabrics for the likes of Armani, Girbaud and Express Jeans took him under his wings so he could learn more about what denim could or would not do for the body. He learned the troubleshooting side of tailoring from the master designer (magician, his clients swear) himself, Rajo Laurel. Armed with all that, Ino took his designs and experimented with what he calls alpha batch. His first 25 pairs sold like hot cakes. He then put up his own outfit, with his own tailors and cutters. Each pair is custom made in every sense of the word. Not only they cover up what you hate to show, they’ll definitely show what you’d hate to cover up. But the originality comes with the fact that Ino refuses to make his custom pair in faded denim. He feels one should fade or wear history into his jeans. Your jeans should tell your story and not a stone-washed of somebody else’s. You get your choice of rivets, thread, embroidery , and whatever else your heart might desire or have patience for. He’ll suggest, adjust, redo, but best of all, he will never judge you for what you lack or have too much of that makes you such a hard fit. Anything semi-precious(or precious, if you insist) you choose to further your cause are considered extras.

Since opening late last year, he’s had quit his regular 9 to5 job and go full time. He has serviced clients as heavy as 300lbs, to those who weigh less than 100lbs. Big butts, no butts, big thighs, big hips, name it, he’d one it. So if you want to get that fitter, richer, happier feeling, I suggest you give VIKTOR a call!.

Posted by lordviktor at 11:23 AM