A household name in the Filipino fashion industry, get to know how JC Buendia sketched his vision into reality.
Every grandiose painting, drawing, or art in general mostly starts with a sketch. It is a step in the process of making the final product. However, sketching is art in itself. Drawing every line, nook, and cranny of your subject without regard is a liberating form of art. JC Buendia’s story tells how sketching paved the way for his illustrious career.
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This exclusive interview with Lifestyle Asia takes us through JC Buendia‘s life before becoming one of the greats in the Philippine fashion scene. Find out how he sketched his destiny by following his childhood dream.
Starting Canvas
Before being known as one of the fashion designers who revolutionized the terno, JC Buendia was a young boy who loved drawing. Having three brothers, their household would always be filled with laughter and noise from his brothers playing around. Furthermore, his mom was a doctor, so it was expected of them to be in the medical field.
However, JC found solace and enjoyment in practicing his creativity. “ Ever since I was a small boy, I liked sketching a lot of female figures. I would use my mom’s prescription pads. She was a doctor, and so that, that was my first sketch pad. And I would sketch Disney princesses,” he reminisced.
JC was usually alone while his brothers played with his other male cousins, he enjoyed his solitude. “I wouldn’t change a thing…I think I was happy left alone,” he said. The famed designer used to draw in his room while his brothers and cousins were playing. His creativity also manifested at a young age as he would make his family watch puppet shows with puppets he made and dressed.
At this age, even though his creativity was already showing, he didn’t know what a fashion designer was. However, his fascination with the arts will eventually lead him to the path he was destined for.
Lifted From The Pages
The path towards his career as a fashion designer was lit up by the books he read as a young adult. In high school, JC, along with his classmates was reading a book by Judith Krantz called Scruples.
“It was not the steamy parts that excited me, it was the character of Valentine. Valentine, in that book, was a fashion designer. She grew up in the Atelier of Pierre Balmain, where her mother was a seamstress and she was hiding under the petticoats. And so she grew up learning about the trade in the house of Balmain until she became a fashion designer herself, and after reading that book, I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer,” he said.
Aside from Valentine in Scruples, JC looked up to the late Yves Saint Laurent as an inspiration. He chanced upon the autobiography of the late French designer when he was buying back issues of Vogue Paris in a bookstore. “I was so fascinated with his life. He became a designer at Dior at 17. So young, I was thinking, I was also 16, and maybe by some stroke of luck, I would also be a fashion designer,” he recalled.
Redirection Before Flourishing
In college, he was expected to pursue medicine, however, he begged his parents to allow him to pursue the creative track. He went to UST and pursued Fine Arts as his program. After graduating from university, he went to fashion school, Slim’s Fashion & Arts School to formalize his study in pattern making and sewing.
His education eventually led him to work with different Filipino fashion designers like the late Cesar Gaupo. While working behind the scenes, he was being mentored by the tenured designers at FDG. “It was the height of the FDG, the Filipino Designers Group, and yearly they would have gala shows at the Manila hotel. And I was backstage witnessing everything unfold.”
In his early career, he was working behind labels. However, his career went on a pause in the 90s. “By the 90s, I felt I was not going anywhere because the trend then was grunge, and it was not my training,” he shared.
To recenter himself, he went abroad and toured around the United States during this time. JC was ready to leave the fashion world behind, he was willing to work as a florist in the States. However, a phone call from a friend in New York told him to go home to the Philippines and establish his shop. And so he did.
Peaking and Influencing
He started his label with a sewing machine from his grandmother. JC grew his business and cemented his unique design code. He made designs inspired by old Hollywood films with a touch of Filipino culture. Moreover, JC made every woman who wore his designs feel elegant, regal, and dignified.
His designs were so popular that at one point he was dressing the then-president Gloria Arroyo. He also had the Queen of All Media, Kris Aquino, as one of his clients.
However, JC believes that aside from having notable personalities as his clients, his greatest achievement was his contribution to modernizing the terno. “In [TernoCon] 2018 I presented a collection of separates. I thought of the needs of the modern Filipina,” he said. He is one of the Filipino designers who helped revolutionize the use of terno—consequentially uplifting Filipino fashion and culture at the same time.
Imparting His Legacy
When asked how he wants to be remembered as a fashion designer, JC leaves a heartfelt message. “I’d rather be remembered as a good person than a good designer,” he said. He then proceeds to remind everyone that being kind to others is one of the most important practices in life.
“I’d rather be remembered as a good person than a good designer”
“I want to go with the tagline, ‘You can be kind.’ I think you know with what’s happening in the world now… I think it can start with us if we can be kind. I’d like to inspire kindness”
JC also left a message for young and emerging designers. “It’s important if you find your look, and people would instantly say when they see your creation,” he advised. Furthermore, JC emphasized how finding your voice as a fashion designer would help you find and eventually carve your path toward your success.
All photos by Excel Panlaque of KLIQ, Inc.
