<p class="p1">MONOHOMME, helmed by young designer Mikayl Trinidad, returns to the scene with its first-ever womenswear collection.</p>

<p data-start="0" data-end="279" style="text-align: center;"><strong>PHOTOGRAPHY</strong> John Lim</p>
<p data-start="0" data-end="279" style="text-align: center;"><strong>SITTING DIRECTORS </strong>Deon Ira Flores and John Paolo Comodiero</p>
<p data-start="0" data-end="279">Just under three years after his feature in&nbsp;<em>L&rsquo;Officiel Philippines</em>&rsquo; September 2023 issue, <strong>Mikayl Trinidad</strong> of <strong>MONOHOMME</strong> is stepping into a new phase, leading his brand towards its first foray into womenswear. The collection is a loving tribute to the women who&rsquo;ve shaped his life.</p>
<p data-start="281" data-end="531">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to fully grasp the weight of what they&rsquo;ve gone through,&rdquo; Trinidad admits. &ldquo;They have the kind of resilience shaped by a life that often felt like a rollercoaster. But I am a product of everything they&rsquo;ve done. This is my ode to them.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="533" data-end="858">Favoring more traditionally feminine shapes while also staying true to MONOHOMME signatures, Trinidad challenged himself to push beyond his usual treatment of denim and lace, elevating the brand&rsquo;s beloved existing codes. One piece in particular, a rattan-inspired skirt, draws from his mother&rsquo;s early work as a basket weaver.</p>
<p data-start="860" data-end="1113">&ldquo;I used to help her as a child,&rdquo; he shares. &ldquo;That skirt was constructed entirely from scratch, using strips of denim stitched one by one over boning to emulate the texture and structure of rattan. It&rsquo;s one of the most personal pieces in the collection.&rdquo;</p>

<p data-start="1115" data-end="1212"><strong data-start="1115" data-end="1212">Let&rsquo;s talk about MONOHOMME&rsquo;s first womenswear collection. What were your inspirations for it?</strong></p>
<p data-start="1214" data-end="1482">This 16-piece collection is inspired by the women in my life. Each piece tells a story &mdash; fragments of their lives that they&rsquo;ve shared with me: the things they love, the work they did growing up, and even the experiences they were never given the chance to have as women.</p>
<p data-start="1484" data-end="1626"><strong data-start="1484" data-end="1626">What piqued your fascination with the silhouettes, textures, and fabrics you&rsquo;ve used in this collection? What made you decide to use them?</strong></p>
<p data-start="1628" data-end="1918">MONOHOMME has always been rooted in denim, lace, and handcrafted dahlia details. With this being our first womenswear collection, I leaned into more traditionally feminine silhouettes &mdash; mini skirts, full skirts, midi dresses, and balloon skirts &mdash; almost like embodying every young girl&rsquo;s dream.</p>
<p data-start="1920" data-end="2176">It was a challenge to push lace and denim beyond their usual applications, especially past cutout details, but we found new ways to reinterpret them. Every piece in the collection carries either lace, denim, or both&mdash;reimagined through a more elevated lens.</p>

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<p data-start="0" data-end="169" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m inspired by queer designers who continue to prove that we are more than just stereotypes&mdash;that we are storytellers, innovators, and creators with depth and purpose.&rdquo;</p>
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<p data-start="2178" data-end="2245"><strong data-start="2178" data-end="2245">What was the most fascinating part of creating this collection?</strong></p>
<p data-start="2247" data-end="2468">Since this is MONOHOMME&rsquo;s first womenswear collection, I intentionally built a team composed entirely of women&mdash; from the sewers to the flower makers, even my interns. That decision alone made the process deeply meaningful.</p>
<p data-start="2470" data-end="2731">One of the looks is rooted in a childhood memory of my mother. She had this apple green dress that I loved. Whenever she wasn&rsquo;t around, I would wear it and play &ldquo;Little Miss Gay&rdquo; with my younger brother &mdash; we&rsquo;d even invite our straight friends to watch us perform.</p>
<p data-start="2733" data-end="2847"><strong data-start="2733" data-end="2847">Could you tell us more about your brand and how it has evolved through the years? What are your dreams for it?</strong></p>
<p data-start="2849" data-end="3107">For the past five years, MONOHOMME has focused on menswear, exploring the possibilities of denim and lace within the Philippine market. We began with full lace menswear tops, eventually evolving into combining lace and denim &mdash; something that resonated locally.</p>
<p data-start="3109" data-end="3422">We&rsquo;re still far from where I envision the brand to be, but we are moving forward. My dream is for MONOHOMME to become a stable local brand capable of producing its own lace textiles in the future. Long term, I want to bring the brand to the international stage. I believe it has the potential to be seen globally.</p>

<p data-start="3424" data-end="3481"><strong data-start="3424" data-end="3481">Could you tell us a bit about your career background?</strong></p>
<p data-start="3483" data-end="3744">I graduated with a degree in Broadcast Communication from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. I started my career working as a customer service representative at Convergys, then transitioned into teaching as an ESL instructor from 2018 to early 2020.</p>
<p data-start="3746" data-end="4019">I didn&rsquo;t come from a traditional fashion background. Aside from a pattern-making class I took at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines (FIP), I&rsquo;m largely self-taught. I later returned to FIP to further my studies, completing two additional courses between 2023 and 2024.</p>
<p data-start="4021" data-end="4110"><strong data-start="4021" data-end="4110">How has your design perspective shifted &mdash; or remained the same &mdash; since your last release?</strong></p>
<p data-start="4112" data-end="4287">My last collection was shown at BYS Fashion Week 2024. After that, I didn&rsquo;t release anything new for quite some time. This womenswear collection took nearly a year to develop.</p>
<p data-start="4289" data-end="4603">It feels different compared to my previous work and to MONOHOMME as a whole. But growth requires expansion &mdash; we can&rsquo;t stay in the same place. We needed to push how we approach lace and denim, to explore them more deeply in construction while refining their execution so they feel elevated rather than overly crafted.</p>
<p data-start="4605" data-end="4694">The core of the brand hasn&rsquo;t changed &mdash; we&rsquo;ve simply found more creative ways to express it.</p>

<p data-start="4696" data-end="4735"><strong data-start="4696" data-end="4735">What are your long-term influences?</strong></p>
<p data-start="4737" data-end="4930">My biggest influence is my upbringing. I grew up in a family that couldn&rsquo;t always afford three meals a day, and I never want to go back to that reality. It was difficult, but we got through it.</p>
<p data-start="4932" data-end="5056">From a young age, I believed I was capable of more. That belief&mdash; and those experiences &mdash; continue to shape the work I do today.</p>
<p data-start="5058" data-end="5124"><strong data-start="5058" data-end="5124">What are your current influences? What inspires you right now?</strong></p>
<p data-start="5126" data-end="5304">Right now, I&rsquo;m inspired by queer designers who continue to prove that we are more than just stereotypes &mdash; that we are storytellers, innovators, and creators with depth and purpose.</p>
<p data-start="5306" data-end="5349"><strong data-start="5306" data-end="5349">Your design philosophy in one sentence?</strong></p>
<p data-start="5351" data-end="5438" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">Create with purpose &mdash; so the work sustains not only the vision, but the people behind it.</p>

To All the Girls: The Psyche Behind MONOHOMME's First-Ever Womenswear Collection

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES MAY 2026 - Kylie Verzosa ₱600

To All the Girls: The Psyche Behind MONOHOMME's First-Ever Womenswear Collection

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