Maja Salvador Gives Deconstructed Dressing a Sensual Spin at the Preview Ball 2026

The dress, which debuted at MNL Fashion Week just a week before the Ball, comes from Jerome Lorico’s Lux et Sal Spring/Summer 2027 collection and is made entirely from individually knitted cotton strips. The strips are assembled on a body form, overlapping and intertwining to create the dress’s fluid silhouette. Jerome, who was named one of Preview’s Best Filipino Fashion Designers 2026 that evening, builds the piece around this distinctive treatment of knit.

The strips fall closely along Maja’s frame, with narrow openings appearing throughout the bodice and skirt. Stylist Leanne Ledesma of Qurator Studio tells Preview that their team was immediately drawn to the piece for the way its construction could express the theme. “For Maja, we wanted to interpret ‘deconstructed’ in a way that felt sensual and effortless, without feeling too deliberate or constructed,” she says. 

The dress also carries a specific image from Jerome’s creative process. As Leanne explains, its overlapping strips were inspired by the way hair clings to and covers the body after emerging from a swim or dip in the sea. On Maja, that idea comes through in the way the knit falls against her skin and shifts.

“We loved how that concept translated once the dress was actually on the body,” Leanne says. The strips “alternately reveal and conceal glimpses of skin,” giving the look its sensuality through the construction of the dress itself.

Leanne kept the styling pared back to let those details come through. Maja accessorized with Tiffany & Co. HardWear earrings, while hairstylist Florenz swept her hair into a slicked-back bun that kept the neckline and shoulders clear. Makeup artist Owen Sarmiento completed the look with softly defined eyes, a warm complexion, and a glossy nude lip.

“There’s a rawness to Jerome’s construction but also an incredible amount of intention and craftsmanship behind it,” Leanne says. “We kept the rest of the styling sleek and restrained, allowing the texture, movement, and construction of the dress and ultimately Jerome’s original idea to remain the focus.”