THE HEART OF AN ORIGINAL

Take the local fashion route with designer Louis Claparols and makeup artist Bobby Carlos to find out what truly makes them proud as Filipino creatives

- MARIAN SAN PEDRO

HOW DID YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY START?

LC:My god, it started a long time ago! I used to be a full-time designer back in the early 2000s, and he was the makeup artist. We usually work together most of the time. In 2014, I moved back and forth between Los Angeles and Bangkok. Then I moved back here because they were encouraging me to do ready-to-wear. So in 2018, I started this brand with their support.

BC: Back tracking, we’ve been doing this for a very long time. We’ve known each other for 30 years. The retail side of us, before being a makeup artist and a designer, started a long time ago. We even had a store in Rockwell. The store is Marnis Room. And then eventually we’ve become very busy with our own careers, me being a makeup artist and doing editorials and Louis being a designer doing made-to-measure clothes and fashion shows. That’s why I pretty much know all the “OGs” (originals) of the industry. When the pandemic hit, we went back to where we started—we’ve come full circle. Now, we just do pop-up stores.

HOW DID YOU TWO MEET?

Both: Oh my gosh! (laughs)

BC: We used to be together before! (laughs)

LC: Yes! (laughs) Actually, everyone knows!