Everything That Happened at Manila Fashion Week 2025 Day 1

Manila Fashion Week opened on a note of quiet romance. Andrea Tetangco revisited her signature brand of refined femininity, this time with a renewed sense of freedom. The designer explored volume and texture through the use of layered fabrics and intricate techniques, creating a visual interplay between softness and structure.

Despite the precision in construction, the garments carried a sense of ease with every movement. As the models walked, skirts rippled like water, bubble hems expanded and folded, and ruched detailing on luminous fabric caught the light with every step. Every look spoke of grace—measured, fluid, yet strong.

“It’s a Cruise collection, and it’s a celebration of women,” Andrea shared after the show. “It’s a mix of strong and romantic silhouettes.”

Among those who turned up to show support was actress-entrepreneur Kylie Verzosa, one of the designer’s muses. “I super loved the collection—it was super soft, very feminine, and elegant,” she said. “I love that she played with textures, beads, and even polka dots!”

Celebrity makeup artist Jake Galvez also sang strings of praise for the collection. “It was simply amazing,” he said. "I [can] see a lot of my friends wearing the pieces she designed.”

Viktor transported its audience to the cinematic world of the Blade Runner 2049. Much like the dystopian film’s wardrobe, the brand leaned into its love for rugged, functional materials: heavy denim, leather, fur, and wool— elements that have become hallmarks of its signature style for the last 22 years.

Oversized outerwear and structured suits dominated the lineup, their proportions sometimes exaggerated yet kept highly wearable. The palette—mostly black, deep-wash denim, and the occasional flash of red—evoked a world stripped of color, but clearly not of style.

“Since our collection is set in an imagined dystopian world with its bleaky atmosphere, we fashioned a world where people dress up in their winter garb—clothes as protection or as armor,” shared co-founder Ino Caluza.

The runway’s scenography reflected a post-apocalyptic world where flora and fauna have long vanished. Yet, in the details, a breath of life lingered. Brooches resembling flowers and insects—fashioned from discarded fabric cutoffs—brought a fragile beauty to the darkness. “Each piece reinterprets the essence of flowers and insects, not as they are in nature, but as fragments of memory and imagination,” explained co-founder Will Mueco.

“I thought the collection was complete—it was very Viktor,” shared John Lozano, Manila Fashion Week founder and celebrity stylist. “I love how he used denim and leather—my favorite look is the gown at the end,” he noted, referring to the show’s finale where Jasmine Maierhofer-Patrimonio walked the runway in a leather tube corset paired with a voluminous bubble skirt.

Also in attendance was fashion influencer and longtime Viktor buyer David Guison, who expressed delight at seeing the brand revisit its utilitarian roots with a refreshed perspective. Every look that came out really resonated with my personal style,” he shared. Dressed head-to-toe in Viktor, he described how the collection mirrored his own style.