Blending the worlds of performance and couture, I&ntilde;igo&rsquo;s latest collection transforms the runway into a stage where craftsmanship and movement converge. With impeccable tailoring, intricate details, and a refined approach to maximalism, each piece commands attention.

PHOTOGRAPHY Chapters by Mayad courtesy of Manila Fashion Week
There&rsquo;s a theatricality to I&ntilde;igo&rsquo;s latest collection &mdash; not in the sense of spectacle, but in how each piece seems to perform as it walks the runway. It&rsquo;s fashion that moves with intent, commands attention, and refuses to be overlooked. &ldquo;The inspiration behind this collection is rooted in the limelight; commanding attention, movement, and versatility,&rdquo; I&ntilde;igo shared. &ldquo;Having grown up on stage as a dancer, I wanted to translate those same qualities into garments, bringing performance to fashion through fluidity, presence, and emotion.&rdquo;
That performative quality manifested beautifully across the collection. It was maximalism distilled &mdash; abundant in detail yet never overwhelming, each look stripped of excess until only the most expressive elements remained. The craftsmanship was exquisite, from intricate fabric manipulations to meticulous hand-stitched embellishments. These are pieces that demand to be seen up close, every seam and flourish testifying to I&ntilde;igo&rsquo;s obsessive attention to detail.
Staying true to his design DNA while pushing into new territory, I&ntilde;igo also explored techniques his studio is refining. &ldquo;I envisioned what my muses would look like if they were stepping into the spotlight &mdash; from elevated looks to wearable statement pieces that embody confidence and artistry,&rdquo; he said. Presenting this collection at the inaugural Manila Fashion Week was a deeply personal choice. &ldquo;It represents a full-circle moment &mdash; taking the world I once knew as a performer and expressing it in a different medium.&rdquo;
In a conversation with L'Officiel Philippines, the designer talks about his inspiration and what drives him to create.
<h3 data-start="1212" data-end="1734" style="text-align: center;">I&ntilde;igo for Manila Fashion Week 2025</h3>

What inspired your collection? Was there a specific story or something you wanted to show?
Growing up as a performer, I basically grew up on stage. I was in front of lots of people, and I wanted to draw something from the feeling of being on stage and what I see on stage &mdash; the limelight and all eyes being on you. So, more spotlight. That&rsquo;s where I drew inspiration, and I wanted to translate it into garments, which is why many of the pieces will be very commanding. As an audience, they will command attention. It&rsquo;s going to be a walking statement &mdash; very edgy yet wearable looks. That&rsquo;s what really inspired me, and there&rsquo;s going to be lots of movement, lots of life.
When I create garments, I always say that I want a garment to be buhay na buhay &mdash; full of life. Because that was also second nature to me as a performer: lots of movement, grace, and life. I wanted to incorporate all of that into one collection using different fabric manipulations and beading techniques. We also practice creating garments with maximalist details but with a minimalist finish to achieve a clean and crisp look.
You mentioned earlier that your collection is about your childhood story &mdash; your love of the stage. How is that nostalgia seen in your collection?
Lots of pieces in my collection are like walking statements. And I feel like being on stage, all eyes are on you &mdash; because the title of my collection is All Eyes on You. I wanted each muse or model to be able to command that attention the same way I did growing up on stage. As performers, we were required to command attention through performing. This time, I wanted to translate that into garments and the way a model walks in them. Parang that&rsquo;s where I also wanted to figure out a way to command attention &mdash; same approach, but a different medium.
You also said that you tried new techniques for this collection. Can you walk us through that process?
For the collection in general, I wouldn&rsquo;t really claim that they&rsquo;re entirely new techniques. It&rsquo;s more that they&rsquo;re new techniques to us as a team. It&rsquo;s something fresh, of course, especially in how we finish. As I said earlier, we practice maximalist details but with a minimalist finish para it&rsquo;s very wearable even for the market.
When creating garments for this collection, I usually stick to my classic silhouettes because many of our clients &mdash; and me personally &mdash; love classic silhouettes kasi they&rsquo;re very wearable. I usually cut them into two so they can be styled differently even after. With that, I incorporate different detailing. How can I add drama to this? How can I add movement to this? Tapos our base talaga is always structured kasi we want it to have shape. We don&rsquo;t want it to be very slouchy. We want it to still look elevated so they can wear it to events, galas, or dinners. That&rsquo;s how I conceptualized and how my team and I constructed the garments &mdash; very classic and wearable silhouettes, but with maximalist details and a very clean finish talaga.
How was the collaboration with DOST-PTRI, especially with the fabrics that you were given?
At first, of course, like many of us designers, I feel like we already knew what fabrics we wanted. So, we were a bit challenged for sure because we were working with fabrics we weren&rsquo;t so familiar with. Even me personally, I haven&rsquo;t really worked that much with heathered fabrics from DOST. I haven&rsquo;t personally worked with heathered or pi&ntilde;a fabrics because they&rsquo;re not really in my niche as a designer.
But it was a really good challenge. We were able to manipulate them differently, and DOST was very accommodating with our questions &mdash; how the fabric snags, how the fabric behaves, the measurements, how many yards we could use. Of course, we had to consider all of those things. As designers, we need to think about what garments we can make with the allowable yardage and stretch. So, yun, it was a good challenge, and it was really nice kasi as designers, it&rsquo;s also our job to find a way to make it cohesive with the usual fabrics we work with.
Going back to your collection, what do you hope for the audience to take away?
With my collection entitled All Eyes on You, I want the audience to just take it all in. My inspo kasi also was &mdash; this is the drama of it, besides the inspiration. The drama is that I invited forty people to a gala, and they&rsquo;re all just entering the red carpet. They&rsquo;re fighting for, &ldquo;I wanna be on this list. I wanna be on that list.&rdquo; So, I want the audience to feel like they&rsquo;re also part of that gala.
I want them to really feel each garment, see each movement, and notice each detail because my team and I have been working really hard every day since we were told we&rsquo;d be part of this year&rsquo;s Manila Fashion Week. We&rsquo;re very excited!
How important is it that we have Manila Fashion Week for local designers?
I feel like Manila Fashion Week is such an important platform for rising, current, and veteran designers because it&rsquo;s a way for them to showcase their true artistry to the fullest. Kasi Manila Fashion Week really highlights and champions artistry and craft, and that&rsquo;s not something a designer is always given the liberty to do. Of course, we also have our current clients and existing clientele, and as a service-focused business, you have to cater to what they want.
Now, we have a platform to truly showcase our artistry &mdash; that we&rsquo;re in charge, we&rsquo;re in command. It&rsquo;s also a way for people to appreciate and for us to tell a story about our roots, how our team works, and everything else.
Lastly, what&rsquo;s your message to aspiring Filipino designers?
As a young designer myself, my message is: just stick to your gut. Don&rsquo;t listen too much to external factors or opinions. Criticism is good, but if you feel like this is you, if you feel that this connects to you, then that&rsquo;s good. Just make sure you&rsquo;re doing everything right in the process. Everything should be clean, and you&rsquo;re not stepping on anyone.
I still have a lot to go through and a lot of experiences ahead, but if you stick to your gut, you&rsquo;re headed in the right direction.

Iñigo Brings Movement and Metamorphosis to Manila Fashion Week 2025

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