FILIPINA artist Bea Cruz — who was named Top Designer at the 2020 Fashion Week San Diego (FWSD) — recently gave a sneak peek of her upcoming collection at the 2021 FWSD Spring Showcase in California.
Called “Bright Young Things,” the full wardrobe will be shown at the FWSD Fall Runway in October.
A nod to the 1920s phrase for young people, the series is inspired by one of the most glamourous decades in 20th century fashion. The international preview featured an intricately handcrafted dress that married the flamboyance of soft tulle and two kilos worth of gold crystal seed beads.
“Bright Young Things is reminiscent of the time when people craved for light, speed and celebration of life after being struck by the Great War and the world’s deadliest pandemic, the Spanish flu. This is so fitting for what we are battling in the present,” Ms. Cruz said in a press release. “This collection tells you about my vision — the kind of life we aspire to take back after the coronavirus,” she added. “I wish this will shed a little ray of hope we can hold on to in these trying times, because we have a lot more roaring centennial years to come.”
Ms. Cruz, 23, is a budding designer from Victorias City, Negros Occidental, who studied under the Fashion Design and Merchandising Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts. She first turned heads as the youngest and the sole Philippine representative at the 14th International Virtual Art Renewal Center (ARC), the largest realism art competition hosted by the auction house Sotheby’s New York, wherein she earned the Art & Beauty Behind Fashion Team recognition.
Her international debut at the 2020 FWSD likewise bagged her the Top Designer title for “Vivirá,” a 10-piece fall series which brought a new dimension to the classic baro’t saya, panuelo, and barong.
In addition to her current projects, Ms. Cruz is gearing up for yet another Sotheby’s New York and Art Renewal Center stint this July.