Therese Jacinto on Building a Wardrobe Like a Well-Stocked Pantry

In this ongoing style series, Vogue gets a closer look at the wardrobes of Filipino creatives. Here, creative director and content creator Therese Jacinto tells us about her personal style rooted in effortless restraint and pragmatic modernity.

Therese Jacinto took up ballet classes in kindergarten. Years later, she reveals that although she wasn’t a spectacularly gifted dancer, she became obsessed with the look: tights, tutus, slippers, and sleek up-dos. “The art of dance made me aware of the powerful connection between clothing, how we move through the world, and self-expression,” says the content creator, and creative director at fashion-tech startup Indyx, a one-stop digital wardrobe app.

The performance artform allowed her to appreciate simplicity, especially in design. It’s an attraction that reflects in her sartorial preferences; often, you’ll find her in oversized boyish shirts and relaxed trousers, hair pulled back into a tight bun or tucked neatly behind her ears. To celebrate her Filipino heritage, the San Francisco-based creative has taken to mixing and matching her local and global designer finds. Years ago, at New York Fashion Week, she donned a Vania Romoff camisa top styled backward, and paired with technical cargo pants by Tibi.

“My mom, Deena, was the first influencer in my life and I’ll always look to her for inspiration,” Therese confides. She recalls observing her mother’s style as easy yet highly pragmatic, and growing up, she thought of her mother as looking put together “in a very Diane Keaton sort of way: natural makeup, bob haircut, polished yet relaxed button-downs, and trousers.”

Over the years, she’s taken to viewing the items in her wardrobe as ingredients. “Personal style,” as Therese defines it, “is a result of building your ideal ‘pantry’ and learning how to create your own ‘meals’ that align with your taste. What makes style personal is getting to make our own rules.” 

See more exclusive photographs from this story in the October 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines, available at the link below.