Photographed by Colin Dancel for the December 2024/January 2025 Issue of Vogue Man Philippines
Photographed by Colin Dancel for the December 2024/January 2025 Issue of Vogue Man Philippines
Though known more for his women’s couture and ready-to-wear, designer Rajo Laurel explores a new fashion vocabulary with a men’s collection that fleshes out his creative process and a renewed sense of exploration.
Though the seminal ’70s band Hotdog immortalized Pitoy Moreno in the disco ditty Annie Batungbakal and the zeitgeist-defining Eraserheads sang of Inno Sotto in the cautionary tale of fame and fortune in Magasin, if there is any Filipino fashion designer who has truly become part of pop culture it is Rajo Laurel.
Rajo has dressed the biggest names in local showbiz. He himself is currently a judge on Drag Race Philippines and was previously a judge on Project Runway Philippines. He is the go-to designer for the country’s most visible women for their milestone events: debuts, weddings, and public launches of their major endeavors, whether it’s a politician attending the State of the Nation Address (SONA) or a young content creator at the society and showbiz wedding of the year. He has endorsed products like washing machines and department store shoes, and he is the face of his own fashion empire. This includes a haute couture house, a ready-to-wear conglomerate with lines for women, men, and children, a thriving uniform business, and retail shops located in his own building and atelier as well as in malls. Yet, Rajo is never one to rest on his laurels.
“I had been feeling a bit meh, creatively, after years of feeling a bit burdened by the concern of: will this sell? As the business grew, that was always at the back of my mind, it became such a responsibility. It’s very interesting, balancing the business side but that can also eat into the creativity.”
It’s a story as old as time itself: the higher one ascends, the greater the risk of a fall. “So I began to see a new therapist, and started doing more internal work. And with that, a clarity emerged. Of all our brands, RAJO MAN is the smallest division. Imagine, we even make more children’s clothes (for Rajito)! So, since it was the smallest, we had never done a full show.” Now, however, he saw an opportunity to bring RAJO MAN into the spotlight it had long deserved.
Designing for men introduced an entirely new set of challenges. “It’s like trying to brush your teeth with your left hand when you’re right-handed. It’s familiar but still different, and difficult and awkward,” Rajo explains. “Cutting patterns for men’s clothes is so different from women’s. Even the fabrics I’m used to, no matter how familiar, will drape differently on a man’s shoulder.” For Laurel, the process of creating menswear is an intimate one, involving hands-on experimentation and the opportunity to try on each piece himself.
The intimacy of this collection reached beyond the garments themselves. “My usual process starts with the external; I find inspiration from travel, cinema, music, muses, and then the process begins from there,” he shares. But this time, his approach was more introspective. The designer confronted his own doubts and leaned into them. “When that doubt gets louder, you can use it creatively, to silence it,” Rajo reflects. “It became about the men I’ve loved, the men I’ve lost. I went back to when I first fell in love with clothes—the Japanese designers of the ’80s, all that deconstruction, memories of the New Wave!” Still, his foundation in women’s couture remained, drawing inspiration from traditional women’s garments like the Manton de Manila. Through this deeply personal journey, Laurel tapped into his passions, discovering a fresh path for experimentation.
“Even the people I always work with, like Robby Carmona and Melvin Mojica, sensed something different in this collection, and they brought so many layers and energy to the show,” he shares. “Given the freedom I had with the clothes, there was this synergy that just occurred. We didn’t want to do a typical runway; we wanted a big space where the models could enter from four different directions, like an arena.” This unique setup transformed the presentation into an immersive experience, amplifying the impact of each piece as the models moved in dynamic, intersecting paths.
Beyond sketchbooks and mood boards, Rajo cherishes creating playlists for both his design process and the show itself. “I was listening to a lot of Higashi. I liked how it made me feel: a tango of excitement and anxiety,” he says. “And I went back to the songs of my youth, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, ABC. I kept going back to that ABC song with the chorus, ‘Be near me, be near me,’ so we ended the show with it. I also included a breathing exercise I do with my therapist, deep breathing worked into the music. I invited my therapist, and she said after the show, ‘You didn’t have to be so literal about it.’”
One meaningful exercise carried over from his women’s collection was a series Rajo calls Love Letters. “I do this with my clients; we take pieces from other garments and integrate them into a new piece. So, as I was doing that with my dad’s and lolo’s barongs, all my memories of the times they wore those barongs really came back to me. I don’t think I can ever sell them.” This personal touch added layers of nostalgia and meaning, connecting his past with his creative present.
Rajo has often spoken of his love for cinema. If he could imagine a film (either an original or a remake) that would suit this new collection as its wardrobe, without missing a beat, he shares, “I really love Dead Poets Society. It deals with the call of the creative life and going against expectations and a rigid society to be true to yourself.” His choice reflects the very spirit of his designs: a celebration of individuality, courage, and breaking free from conventions.
By LEAH PUYAT. Photographs by COLIN DANCEL. Styling by ANZ HIZON. Vogue Man Editor DANYL GENECIRAN. Makeup: Booya Mocorro. Hair: Miggy Carbonilla. Model: Christian and Gelo of Monarq, Lorenzo and Franz of IM, and JV of The Audacity. Lighting Director: Joey Alvero. Executive Producer: Anz Hizon. Producer: Julian Rodriguez. Stylist’s Assistant: Chelsea Sarabia. Lighting Director’s Assistant: Reese Galupe. Photographer’s Assistant: Gab Villareal. Shot on location at Sine Pop.
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