R’Bonney Gabriel’s upcoming collection will feature ukay-ukay pieces

R’Bonney Gabriel’s upcoming collection features materials she got herself from the ukay-ukay, or thrift stores.

The Miss Universe 2022 talked more about the collection’s process and her fashion design journey in an Instagram Reel, saying she was inspired by her mom, who also used to shop at thrift stores.

“I started sewing and designing at the age of 15, when I saw my mom take clothes from the thrift store, and she would take them home and also them to fit my brother and I,” she said.

R’Bonney was given the opportunity to create and showcase a collection, “but I had no idea how because for me, it was unfamiliar territory, I had no resources.”

That's when she learned to go to factories and shops. “I made a lot of the patterns, I sold a lot of the pieces myself, and I'm just very hands on,” she said.

“And it definitely was a struggle, but looking back at it now, I'm so glad that I was able to just keep going and figure out every obstacle.”

According to R’Bonney, her favorite part of the whole process was going to various ukay-ukay shops to find clothes. In the Reel, she inserted clips of herself going through each item at the shop and picking out the ones she needed, and called them "an exciting adventure.”

"These clothes, I was able to deconstruct and work into the collection, and as I'm ripping apart the clothing, it really allows me to think spontaneously and really just think on the spot because of design, and I love that.”

To end her video, R’Bonney said that when people wear her clothing, she wants them to feel excited.

“I want them to feel unique and just overall great and beautiful in them,” she said. “They're for somebody that wants to think outside of the box. And I want people to take a second look at whoever is wearing my clothing.”

After two and a half months of working and lots of teasers, R’Bonney is launching her new fashion collection at Bench Fashion Week on Friday, August 30.

R’Bonney arrived in the Philippines in April, and has been busy with modeling, hosting, guestings, and other work engagements.

The first Filipino-American Miss Universe has been exploring her heritage in the Philippines, from eating Pinoy street food, practicing her "tawad" game in Divisoria, riding a jeepney, traveling to beaches, visiting her dad’s childhood home in Malate, Manila, learning to cook sinigang, and skipping traffic onboard a motorcycle service.
 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by R’Bonney Nola (@rbonneynola)

— Nika Roque/LA, GMA Integrated News