As a society, our understanding and relationship with fashion have greatly evolved over the years. Many individuals regard it as an avenue to not only express themselves but to actually discover who they are as people. For the LGBTQIA+ community in particular, the clothes they put on their backs play a powerful role in affirming their identities and sharing them with the world around them.
Ahead, Preview asks eight emerging designers—each one deep into their studies but already brimming with much potential—how fashion has contributed to actualizing their most authentic, queer selves.
Queer Student Designers on the Role Fashion Plays in Self-Discovery and Expression
Ron Roxas (any pronouns), BS Clothing Technology, UP Diliman
"I learned about fashion design when my gay cousin introduced me to his hobby of sketching bridal gowns. Illustrating fashionable figures served as a way for me to express my repressed feminine side who just always wanted to play dress up. [In college], I joined a fashion organization called The Haus (or Malayan Haus of Fashion and Arts) to expand my budding interest in design. I owe a lot to them for helping me utilize fashion as a way to understand myself and the part of me who I’ve thought I’ve already lost."
"I started exploring my style as I navigated with my identity and internal contradictions. Fashion became a witness and companion in my long struggle to unlearn the internalized homophobia and misogyny accustomed by our society. Ever since I wore my very first dress in public and felt so much power and pure queer joy, I knew I wanted to pursue this field that turns silk into my own personal armor."
"The theatricality in my designs always comes from the point of view of a young Ron, unleashing the imaginative and optimistic child within me. The uninhibitedness stems from my brazen attitude towards instilling norm-breaking and boundary-pushing design codes. Being queer means to be revolutionary and I always aim to translate that in my works—unshackled, unapologetic, and political."
Follow Ron on Instagram here.
Kendo Siochi (he/him), BS Clothing Technology, UP Diliman
"I wore a skirt before I ever liked a boy. Fashion has been the foundation of my sexuality, allowing me to explore all possible expressions, whether it'd be masculine, feminine, or androgynous. It guided me to what makes me feel most beautiful and myself. Fashion taught me that just because something is not generally accepted doesn't mean it is wrong. If it makes you feel beautiful and yourself, wear it!"
"Now, as a fashion student, I want to help others feel beautiful the way fashion made me feel beautiful. Fashion does more than just dress you—it helps you become your true self. And just like I did through fashion, you KenDo it too!"
Follow Kendo on Instagram here.
Seine Ventura (they/them), BA Fashion Design and Merchandising, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
"To me, fashion has always been an attempt to visually present my identity to the world. In realizing I am non-binary, there was definitely a shift within me. The weight from my previously conditioned identity was suddenly lifted off of me; there was nothing holding me down anymore."
"Our culture today, I find, can be reclusive and conservative, upholding heteronormativity as a status quo. Following that norm may benefit me, but it comes at the cost of my authentic expression. Fashion assures me that regardless of how I present myself, whether that be masculine or feminine, it is there to help me feel fulfilled and secure. I do not have to settle for being an impersonation of what is expected of me, but instead, I can create my own authentic self."
"Understanding my identity isn’t something done overnight, but rather, with time where in which I continue to acknowledge and accept every version of myself."
Follow Seine on Instagram here.
Reese Collins Latonio (he/they), BS Clothing Technology, UP Diliman
"My trans journey began with a leather jacket, and it continues to thrive whenever I decide to put one on. Fashion was the main avenue for me to discover my transness. It gave me my first feeling of gender euphoria, and made me think, 'Oh. I really am a guy.'"
"Fashion is a choice we make everyday. It portrays a narrative of who we are and what we represent. As a fashion student and designer, I want the clothes that I make to portray this confidence and pride in being trans. We, as queer people, are gifted with a perspective outside of heteronormativity. It's in that flamboyance, that glamour, and that heart woven into the seams of our wardrobes that makes fashion our own. It's a statement and a story. I'd even go as far as saying it is a soul."
"I know it's cliché, but when you spend so [much time] in the closet, the only proper response when you step out is to have a good goddamn sense of style. That's how queer fashion is to me, a visual spotlight on your best, most authentic self."
Follow Reese on Instagram here.
Ivee de Los Santos (she/her), BA Fashion Design and Merchandising, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
"When I started transitioning, dressing up was one of the first ways with which I started expressing my femininity. Getting to finally dress up in a manner that aligned with my gender identity felt liberating. It was able to alleviate a dysphoria I never thought I had."
"At first, my mom wasn’t really on board with me transitioning. This gave me a lot of distress knowing that a person close to my heart disapproves of who I am. However, I had to understand that she also had to undergo the transitioning phase of accepting this version of me. Fortunately, my mom came around. Now, she would even buy clothes, bags and accessories for me."
Follow Ivee on Instagram here.
Jolo Fernandez (he/they), BA Fashion Design and Merchandising, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
"I grew up in a Filipino-Chinese household as the only boy, and my coming out story was not an ideal one. I can say that I was lucky enough to find fashion and pop culture as my havens during times when I had crises with myself and with my sexuality. I was in my teenage years when I slowly accepted, appreciated, and loved the fact that I was different from the rest."
"As I grew older, I still had issues with expressing my sexuality through fashion, as I struggled looking for clothes that fit both my style and my size. The clothes I wanted to wear were mostly found in the women’s section, but they were not in my size. Now, as a young creative, I can fully express my sexuality through clothing by making my own clothes. Being in fashion school has helped me in expressing myself as I am around people who I trust and who have the same sentiments when it comes to fashion."
"While I enjoy the perks of being a fashion designer, I also feel the obligation to further reclaim the narrative of the fashion industry, [which will hopefully shift] society’s perception of what makes fashion genderless."
Follow Jolo on Instagram here.
Honda Gervacio Artiga (she/her), Nemesio I. Yabut Senior High School
"Fashion has always had a major role in my queer upbringing. It is my form of spiritual performance. My relatives are Catholic, so it became really challenging for me to come out. But surprisingly, when I first wore a skirt on my 16th birthday, my religious tita caught me and affirmingly said, 'Wala namang mali sa ginagawa mo.' That’s when I knew that I was loved, and that people will continue to love me if I just keep being true to myself."
"Fast forward to now, I'm still evolving as a strong trans Pinay woman. I always celebrate queer excellence through my brand GERVACIO. I'm also committed to having trans and queer identities as the muses of my pieces. I believe that being involved is to be seen, and to be seen is to be loved."
Follow Gervacio on Instagram here.
Abu Manding (he/they), BS Clothing Technology, UP Diliman
"Fashion gives me the freedom to express not only my sexuality but also my philosophies and principles in life. In a society that continues to deny us access to our rights, fashion provides a platform for queer people to express ourselves. Though there is the fear of being on the receiving end of a hate crime, I still make sure that they see me for who I am. Being silenced frightens me more than getting homophobic remarks from contemptuous people."
"I consider this as a gift for my 10-year-old self who used to secretly dress up, and sketch fashion figures inside a locked room. Fashion liberated me from the sterility of an unimaginative mind; it gave me the chance to be unapologetically queer."
"As we celebrate Pride this year, may we all remember what it really is—a protest. It is a chance for us to forward our plights and advocacies. As for me, fashion continues to inspire me to make clothes that break the boundaries of gendered fashion, so that a 10-year-old Abu no longer has to dress up in secret or be creatively queer within closed doors. I make sure to continue showing up the way I am, so society cannot alienate the image of a man in feminine clothes."
Follow Abu on Instagram here.
Editor's note: Interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.
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