Ito Curata (2 November 1959 – 26 March 2020) was one of the Philippines top

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

s who specialized in conceptualizing bridal gowns and Filipiniana clothing. Among his notable clients were Hollywood actress

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

, former Philippine president

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

Margarita Moran-Floirendo Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo (born 15 September 1953), professionally known as Margie Moran (), is a Filipino beauty queen, actress and peace advocate who was the president of Ballet Philippines and is the chairperson of the Cultural ...

and Filipino actress

Bea Alonzo Phylbert Angelli Ranollo Fagestrom (born October 17, 1987), professionally known as Bea Alonzo (), is a Filipino actress. Alonzo first gained recognition for the 2002 teleserye ''Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay''. She is best known for her portrayals ...

Early life and education

Ito Mendoza Curata was born in Manila, Philippines, on November 2, 1959 and was raised in

Batangas City Batangas City, officially the City of Batangas ( fil, Lungsod ng Batangas), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City i ...

. Curata took up

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

for a year. He moved to the States when he was just 17 in 1977 where he got a scholarship at

Clarion University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion, also known as PennWest Clarion, is a public university campus in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the institution was founded in 1867 and offers ...

but since their fine arts program was very limited, he decided to forfeit his scholarship and move to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. He then studied at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

where he obtained a bachelor of fine arts degree and at the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. S ...

where he graduated from the university's Certificate program. After college, Curata decided to become a banker for a while and occasionally made gowns for some of his friends. After a couple of years working in banking, Curata decided to pursue his dreams of becoming a Fashion Designer.

Career

Curata lived in San Francisco in the United States for 26 years. While in San Francisco, Curata ran his own atelier and designed clothing for high-profile public figures such as actress

and socialite Helena Maria Schulz. He was the first Filipino-American designer to be spotlighted by the Hollywood press. After his partner Bob retired In the early 2000s, they both decided to move back to the Philippines where Curata continued to design clothing for some of the Philippines top socialites. Former President

, and Filipina actress and singer

were among his Philippine-based clients. In 2016, he received People Asia's Men Who Matter award and in 2019, he was recognized as an Outstanding Citizen in Batangas. At the first

Miss Universe Philippines Miss Universe Philippines is a beauty pageant and organization that selects the Philippines' official representative to the Miss Universe pageant. The reigning Miss Universe Philippines is Celeste Cortesi of Pasay who was crowned on April ...

fashion show in 2019, Curata's works were among the featured in the exhibition. Curata also occasionally judged and made gowns for Beauty Pageants.

Death

He and his partner Miller were admitted to a hospital in mid-March due to COVID-19 symptoms. Curata and Miller were then admitted into the

Intensive Care Unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...

. Curata died on March 26, 2020 due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, a complication from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

infection, and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

. Miller died two weeks after him.

Personal life

Curata had a partner named Robert Miller whom he met while living in San Francisco. Miller was an executive vice president for

Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (; stylized as ''VISA'') is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded cred ...

After Miller retired, they both moved the Philippines and decided to adopt a child. Curata was also known for being a great host and cook. Curata also collected paintings and fans and displayed them in his office and on the hallways of his house. He would also collect many art and design books that he would add to his book collection in his Mini Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curata, Ito 1959 births Filipino fashion designers LGBT fashion designers Filipino LGBT artists 2020 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in the Philippines Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines Wedding dress designers University of San Francisco alumni