Explore the IVARLUSKI x BITAGCOL pop-up—an intimate collaboration built on shared creativity, modern Filipino aesthetics, and the craftsmanship behind every piece.
Dinner with friends often leads to the best conversations. Good food, a few glasses of libation, and a fully charged social battery tend to spark the most memorable nights for Ivarluski Aseron and Jo Ann Bitagcol—two giants in the local fashion industry. And as it turns out, one such dinner became the starting point for their collaborative pop-up space at Rockwell.
While the duo admits they don’t share the same aesthetic, they are united by a love for contemporary design. In fact, they often wear each other’s pieces. This shared appreciation, paired with their distinct creative sensibilities, shaped their Power Plant Mall pop-up: a gallery-like space envisioned to showcase their designs and the craftsmanship behind each one.
“We were intentional about presenting a space that was honest, authentic, simple, yet contemporary,” they share.
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Pieces by BITAGCOL
Jo Ann Bitagcol has always had a gift for creating pieces that become instant classics—those items you reach for again and again because they just work. This season, she returns to some of her most beloved designs with a fresh perspective. “I had this idea of updating my designs, pieces that many consider classics. This season, I’m introducing new editions of my prints,” she shares.
Her boxy tops, long favored for their structure and ease, are reimagined as kamisa chinos: modern riffs on the traditional Filipino collarless shirt, now adorned with her signature barong print. Even her sporty kimono, a newer silhouette in her repertoire, gets an elevated treatment through the use of fine handwoven piña and delicate hand-beaded details—quiet luxury translated through craft.
Bitagcol’s collection expands into oversized scarves, skirts, pants, and tops that reveal her instinctive approach to print, pattern, and color. Lace dresses offer a contemporary answer to formal dressing, featuring her Terno Terno prints—playful yet rooted in heritage. Detachable terno sleeves, first unveiled at this year’s Ternocon, add another layer of versatility, offering a fresh, modular way to wear the national dress.
The IVARLUSKI Corner
On the other side of the shared space, Ivarluski Aseron presents a collection built on intention and memory. “My collection for the pop-up is mostly made up of separates for both men and women,” he says. His classic white shirts are reworked with jigsaw-shaped details—a nod to childhood puzzles and a tribute to his nephew on the autism spectrum.
The motif continues throughout: tops designed for all genders, skirts that pair effortlessly with nearly anything, and dresses that play with geometry as he layers checkered tulle over pleats. His palette remains signature Ivarluski—grays, whites, and hints of black.
Together, their pop-up becomes a study in contemporary Filipino design: wearable, functional, versatile. A gallery-like space where the idea of a buildable wardrobe takes center stage, and where classics—whether prints or silhouettes—find new life through reinterpretation.
Ivarluski and Bitagcol’s Pop-Up collaboration will run from December 2025 to February 2026. Visit their space at R2 Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati.
Photos courtesy of IVARLUSKI x BITAGCOL
