Fashion designer Ito Curata dies after battle with COVID-19

Veteran fashion designer Ito Curata has passed away due to complications brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

His friend and fellow fashion designer Joey Galon made the announcement on Facebook.

"A legend has passed," he wrote. "Our dearest Ito Curata has passed from COVID-19. I am so heart broken of this news."

He added that both Ito and his husband, Bob Miller, were admitted in the hospital due to COVID-19, and while Miller continues to fight on, 60-year old Ito succumbed to the disease on March 26.

He wrote, "He has been one of my greatest mentors pushing me to keep going with my fashion designs as he was one of the most brilliant fashion designers ever. He’s been friends with my family for over 35 years."

People Asia's editor-in-chief Joanne Ramirez, another of Ito's friends, also honored him on Facebook.

"It is with heartbreak that I share the devastating news that our beloved friend Ito Curata has passed on. But it is a consolation that he has passed on to a better place, in God’s loving arms," she said.

With over three decades in the fashion industry, Curata created pieces for notable celebrities and personalities such as Hollywood actress Sharon Stone and former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

He is survived by his and Miller's son, Taj.

—Kaela Malig/JCB, GMA News