Ino Caluza adapts to Gen-Zs by opening RTW line

Over 20 years ago, Viktorino “Ino” Caluza loved jeans so much that he busted much of his salary as a creative director for premium jeans.

Then, one day, an epiphany: “Why not make my own jeans than spend so much buying from others?”

That, according to Ino, was how his Viktor Jeans was born.

For over 23 years, the brand has thrived in providing denim lovers like Ino custom-made jeans and jackets that no else could have.

“I think the strength of the brand is the fact that it’s custom-made for you and no other brand has been doing that for the past 23 years that exists in a mall setting... because when you do custom-made, you go to other areas. But it’s a mall, so I think we’ve created a kind of niche market for professionals that whenever they need custom-made pants or jackets, they can just come to the store and have it done,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE in an exclusive interview.

But recently, Ino noticed that the new generation of shoppers, like the Gen-Zs, prefer “no-wait” wear. That prompted Caluza to join his designer friends Jor-el Espina, Jun Escario and Jerome Lorico to open the design collective BRGY in One Corporate Plaza, Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City.

“We’ve been doing custom-made for the past 23 years and I decided that it’s about time that I should be doing RTW (ready-to-wear) stuff because I have a lot of clients who… don’t have enough time to wait for the clothes because normally it would take you seven days,” he explained.

“I have younger clients who… don’t have the patience to wait. So I have also a lot of clients from abroad, but whenever they come here in Manila, apparently they want to get the item already.”

Apart from already having ready-made products that can be bought off-the-rack, Viktor Jeans’ RTW line already comes in different sizes such as small and medium for jackets, while for pants, sizes range from size 28 to 36. There are only one to two pieces per design, Caluza said.

Although clients no longer need to wait to get their hands into the RTW line, they could still enjoy the same perks from the brand’s custom-made denim — timeless design made from raw materials from Japan and sustainable since made in only very limited quantities and not washed.

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), up to hundreds of liters of water are wasted on dyeing and washing denim alone before it is turned into jeans. But Caluza is proud that his brand does not pre-wash their denim, so water is not wasted.

Using unwashed denim makes their jeans softer and reusable for many times before cleaning, he said. He recommended only dry cleaning as frequent washing could make the jeans’ color to whiten.

Most importantly, he is proud that 10 years or so after purchasing, his clients still continue to enjoy their jeans.

Ino said many denim brands, local and international, that have come and go to threaten his label. But at the end of the day, his proudly Pinoy brand thrives for committing to quality, not fads.

“That’s the good thing about our brand because we’re not really specific to a particular trend because we believe that at the end of the day, it’s all about the fit…”