In this L'Officiel Philippines exclusive, the Filipino designer details the exemplary craftsmanship behind the gilded red carpet look.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The first thing to be considered in making a red carpet piece is the specific person wearing it. Meanwhile, on the runway, as the designer, I would have more free rein," Filipino designer Jude Macasinag told L'Officiel Philippines. But when stylist Carla Villanueva approached Jude to conceptualize an ensemble for actress Jorrybell Agoto&rsquo;s European premiere at the 2026&nbsp;Berlinale for her film Filipi&ntilde;ana, the assignment came with unusual roots. Filipi&ntilde;ana, the internationally co-produced drama directed by Rafael Manuel that chronicles an intense day in the life of 17-year-old Isabel working on a Manila country club golf course, had already captivated critics at Sundance and Berlin for its searing visual temperament and class commentary.
Jude, whose practice balances rigorous technique with daring conceptuality, revealed that this gown was not originally intended for a red carpet at all. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s unique about this experience is that I was creating something initially intended for the runway, but by coincidence had been chosen to be worn already on the red carpet even before it was fully finished.&rdquo;

There&rsquo;s a narrative logic in that coincidence. Just as Filipi&ntilde;ana reimagines symbols of elite leisure to examine broader cultural narratives, Jude's gold-gilded creation subverts and elevates materials and historical referents into something both cinematic and wearable. Rather than adhere to the obvious nods of Filipiniana codes or traditional terno motifs, Jude found his inspiration in a moment of cross-temporal collision: &ldquo;Last July 2025, while at the retrospective of Paul Poiret&rsquo;s work at the Mus&eacute;e des Arts D&eacute;coratifs, I glanced upon this image of Denise Poiret while the Sex Pistols&rsquo; rendition of &lsquo;My Way&rsquo; was plugged into my ears. The contrast of Paul Poiret and Sid Vicious at the same time stuck with me, which informed the design elements of this look."

It was a vision conceived outside of the Filipi&ntilde;ana universe, a project that was part of Jude&rsquo;s personal body of work long before being linked to Jorrybell's red carpet moment. &ldquo;The stylist and costume designer Carla Villanueva saw an image of it in the process, and so she tapped me to work on Jorrybell&rsquo;s look for their Berlinale premiere. It gave me a fair and reasonable deadline to work on it, and we also collaboratively improved the look further.&rdquo;
Jude's ethos has always revolved around depth of craft &mdash; a quality that became evident in the gown&rsquo;s intricate construction. &ldquo;The whole look itself took approximately 450 hours, and had gone through three different hands, including myself,&rdquo; he notes. &ldquo;About half of that production time was solely for the top, which was first planned in Paris, embroidered in Manila, and then finished back in Paris. The second half was for the skirt, which took a considerable amount of time not just because of its surface design but because I studied a way to make it as light as possible while having a large amount of volume and without it being too stuffy. The hand-fraying of the gold lam&eacute; fabric itself took over a week&rsquo;s worth of work, resulting to over 200 feather-like shapes.&rdquo;

This meticulous process yielded a dress that seems to shimmer like liquid metal: its top intricately embroidered and sculptural against the voluminous, almost kinetic skirt that catches light with every step.&nbsp;
Despite not having met Jorrybell during the design process, Jude felt confident that the gown would resonate with her. &ldquo;As the designer, I felt that we managed to truly meet halfway for this project. I had reservations about the look on Jorrybell given that I had not met her before creating the piece and that we did not even manage to do any fitting. But when I hand-delivered it to her in Berlin, we immediately connected (and thankfully nothing in the look had to be adjusted). The dress really complemented Jorrybell&rsquo;s personality; her vibrant character shines just as how this look literally does.&rdquo;

In a year when Philippine cinema claims its place on the global stage, Filipi&ntilde;ana&rsquo;s presence at the Berlinale and Jorrybell's radiant appearance in Jude's gilded gown, epitomize a moment where film and fashion intersect as storytelling forces unto themselves.

Photo by Eli Hiller

How Jude Macasinag Created Jorrybell Agoto’s Golden Moment for Her Berlinale Premiere

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