Fashion Fixer-Upper

A private tour in the unit of the country’s top fashion designer.

- Janina Bautista

Undeniably one of the most talented fashion designers in Asia today, Avel Bacudio also aspired to become successful like any other kid. He grew up in the small province of Buhi, Camarines Sur with nine other siblings, five boys and five girls. Their mother was a suit maker, while his father was a land surveyor. Avel shares that they weren’t very well off. Every time his siblings would graduate from high school, they would move to Manila to find their own luck.

“As my younger siblings and I were left in the province, old clothes were handed down to us,” he shares, something ironic for someone who now makes clothes for a living. “I’ve observed how my mother would find ways to repair our clothes. I would watch her sew and I would be amazed,” he shares. Avel’s mother and her sewing techniques served as his main inspiration in pursuing fashion.

During the time, Bituing Walang Ningning made its debut and further inspired Avel to be a fashion designer. “I remember watching that movie several times. I would be inspired by the fashion clothes of the characters Dorina and Lavinia,” he says.