Yuchengco Museum’s “Art2Wear” Exhibit Showcases Wearable Art by Filipino Designers

Art2Wear invites visitors to see fashion as more than form or function. The exhibit pairs Steve Cortes de Leon’s sculptural takes on traditional clothing with Joel Wijangco’s witty and unconventional footwear.

Steve Cortes de Leon approaches fashion with a sculptor’s eye. His mixed-media tapestries and experimental Filipiniana blend indigenous fabrics with repurposed vintage garments, turning each piece into something layered, textured, and alive. The results are rooted and forward-looking, which bridge traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary point of view.

Rather than treating clothing as decoration, the artist builds it up as an act of storytelling. Each piece honors Filipino heritage while exploring how cultural identity continues to evolve.

Across the gallery, Joel Wijangco showcases both playfulness and depth through a collection of more than 25 handcrafted shoes. Known for his surreal and sculptural designs, the self-taught artist treats footwear as a diary of sorts, with each pair inspired by memory, emotion, or everyday life in Manila.

Highlights include Bo-ho (Body Horror), which tackles body image; Palengkera No. 1, a tribute to Malabon’s market vendors; and Sister’s Favorite, a noodle-inspired heel created during his sister’s breast cancer journey. “I design shoes the way some people write memoirs,” Joel says in a statement. “Each pair is a story—sometimes mine, sometimes borrowed, always intimate and strange.”

Through a mix of pop culture, surrealism, and personal reflection, the designer’s work reimagines what shoes can say about identity and how art can live in unexpected forms.

Opened in September 2005, the Yuchengco Museum sits within RCBC Plaza in Makati, a cultural stop that reflects both the personal passions and public commitments of its founder, Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco. A businessman and diplomat with a deep appreciation for the arts, he envisioned the space as a bridge between art, history, and everyday life.

Inside, the museum moves easily between eras and styles. Its rooms hold modern Filipino works alongside pieces that trace the Yuchengco family’s Chinese heritage and the ambassador’s diplomatic career. The result is less a formal collection and more a living record of taste, identity, and legacy.

Beyond its exhibitions, the museum has become a natural setting for creative projects and events—among them the shoot for Preview’s Best Filipino Fashion Designers 2025—that speak to its quiet presence in the city’s cultural rhythm.