Filipino designer Jerome Lorico admitted that his years of experience working locally and internationally, including an eight-month stint at British label Alexander McQueen, continue to influence his designs.

“Working under their house really gave me a different kind of perspective, not just design-wise, but business-wise, it gave me the ability to really know what kind of design to design each season and to be able to make sure that the collection has a good foundation, creative-wise,” Jerome told DAILY TRIBUNE. “So yeah, what you can see here is a reflection not just of my personal aesthetic, but also of the things that I’ve learned not just in Alexander McQueen, but from my tenure in the industry.”

McQueen still lives in “Strange Flowers,” Lorico’s first collection showcased in his newly opened store in the design collective BRGY, located at One Corporate Plaza, Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City.

“It’s a metaphorical and literal interpretation of the concept of flowers and Filipino women,” Lorico said of the collection.

“It’s about the different flowers here. I have like, for example, this skirt is called the ‘tulip skirt,’ and then I have like the orchid top. So it’s really mostly in the form of the flowers that inspired me as well as its symbolism in the society in our culture,” he added.

According to him, he is planning to change the collection at least every four months because at BRGY, their concept is to make it a place where creativity really blossoms.

“For me personally, BRGY is the first space, I think, in Manila which can be considered as an incubator for different and new perspectives in terms of fashion design, home furnishing. So as you can see, it’s not just about clothes. You’re going to see a lot of different accessories. We have like furniture as well. We have like a varied crowd of different styles. So Barangay is really not just for a specific crowd. It’s really for everyone.”

Because of his international exposure, Lorico was able to showcase pieces at Singapore and London Fashion Weeks and this month, he will be among the 12 Filipino designers who will participate in Milan Fashion Week. This will be his first collection for Milan that will showcase around 15 looks composed of 20 to 25 pieces.

“It will be composed of really good and amazing creatives from the Philippines, so that would be something to look forward to,” he said.

“Oh, Milan is definitely one of the top three markets if you really want to succeed in the fashion industry. That’s why it’s very important to have a representation there, especially coming from the Philippines. This is going to be the first time, so we’re all excited and we hope that we’ll be able to represent our country well and that we’d be able to give back to our industry.”

Over a decade ago, Jerome was a young designer looking up at more established ones like McQueen for guidance.

Now that Lorico has been reaching new heights like Milan Fashion Week, like McQueen was, Jerome’s advice to up-and-coming ones is “Just keep doing it, keep hammering the industry, because eventually, you’d find your footing, you’d find the door that you’re waiting to be open.”

“So just keep doing it because the moment that you doubt yourself… you lose the opportunity to actually do more,” he suggested. “So you just have to hype yourself up and make sure that you have a purpose because it’s very important. Everything that you do with a purpose will eventually be fruitful in the future.”