A CHANCE encounter with a premier fashion show director encouraged a Thomasian medical technologist to switch from medicine to fashion.
Errol Isip, 37, started his career in events production under the mentorship of renowned director Robby Carmona.
“At a young age, I was already interested in fashion. I would watch fashion shows [on TV] and I would read fashion magazines, but I never knew that I would make a career out of it,” Isip told the Varsitarian in an online interview.
Isip graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy in 2001. During his college years, he organized events like the Mr. & Ms. Pharmacy and the seniors’ graduation ball.
“During my internship, where I worked late nights in the laboratory by myself, I realized that this was not the life I wanted. I wanted to go out and socialize instead of being in the hospital,” he said.
Working under Carmona, Isip established The Velvet Rope Model Management in 2001, handling fashion models and television personalities.
In 2007, Isip migrated to the United Arab Emirates and worked as show director for Dubai’s top department stores.
He then joined the Al Tayer Group, one of the biggest retail groups in the Middle East, where he directed shows for luxury brands like Gucci, Armani, Bulgari, and Alexander McQueen.
Isip also worked on trunk shows, where designers showcased their works personally to retailers, with the brands of Monique Lhuillier, Stella McCartney and Hollywood actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
Isip is now based in Los Angeles where he continues to produce events and train models for runway shows and fashion shoots.
“Now that I am based in LA, I want to achieve the same or even higher success to make the Philippines proud that a Filipino is able to make a name in the international events industry,” he said.
Here are some of the designers Errol Isip has worked with:
