DESIGNER Jor-el Espina is celebrating his 20th anniversary in fashion in 2025, and he’s doing it in style.
In the last month of 2024, he opened his new atelier on the 7th floor of One Corporate Plaza building in Makati.
Prior to the opening last month, Mr. Espina told BusinessWorld that he used to conduct business from his condominium, while his clothes were sold in pop-ups in SM Aura and SM Mall of Asia, as well as the artisanal fair circuit during the “-ber” months. He’s already planning another pop-up in Rockwell for 2025.
“I really wanted an industrial-themed atelier that can be transformed into anything,” he said during the atelier’s opening last month. “I love to entertain also.”
Mr. Espina is best known for his viral barong-bomber jacket hybrids, which brought him to mainstream fame in 2017. His client list is as diverse as that design’s sources, with figures in both showbiz and politics. We expected to see a line of these bomber jackets during the opening, but instead wedding gowns and more formal dresses were prominently displayed at the atelier.
There was a long white shift in piña, hemmed with lace, while a similar sheath was completely overlaid with lace and strewn with seed pearls. Another gown had a tiered skirt, with the tiers made of lace outlined in seed pearls, which stood next to a relatively casual summer dress made of ribbons woven together like a banig (a native woven mat). Most striking of all because (or despite) its simplicity was a gown with a tiered skirt made with unbleached piña, with no embellishments.
He has been doing bridal gowns for quite some time, but it’s always been his little secret. “The inspiration of my ready-to-wear are still from the gowns that I made,” he said. “I’m still doing it — secretly.”
Mr. Espina talked about some of the difficulties in working with Filipino textiles, but how they’re all worth it in the end. What seem to be deficiencies and gaps in the manufacturing process are instead seen as chances for innovation. For example, “The length is (of a fabric is) short, or sometimes it shrinks when you wash it. But it has to be celebrated… it needs to be there.”
Mr. Espina is part of a cohort that made Filipiniana outfits cool and casual in 2010s, a trend which we’re happy to report is still going strong. “The awareness of the market is wide already,” he said. “Filipiniana is not just there to be framed. It’s meant to be seen, and to be worn.” — Joseph L. Garcia
Jor-El Espina Atelier Manila is located at 703 One Corporate Plaza, Arnaiz Ave., Makati City. For appointments, contact 0931-127-2802. Store hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For updates, follow @jorel_espinaph on Instagram.
