From Benilde to Milan: A young designer’s journey
When I learned that my daughter Hannah was representing DLSU-College of St. Benilde at Milan’s Fashion Graduate Italia, I scrambled to get ready. My husband and I were accompanying her, Roberto as the supportive dad who speaks fluent Italian, and me, the mom who handles requirements. The logistics of having a fashion show in Italy are not for the faint-hearted. But the groundwork for Hannah to showcase her collection in a major fashion capital was laid a long time ago.
A fourth-generation fashion designer, Hannah has carved out her own space in the universe of fashion. As it was for the designers before her—great-grandmother Marina Antonio, grandmother Malu Veloso and me with my sister Letlet—nothing was handed to us on a silver platter, save a family name. Everything else that we achieved was by dint of hard work and no small amount of struggle. And we wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Hannah applied for, and was awarded, a full scholarship in Fashion Design at DLSU-College of St. Benilde. Good thing, because what we needed to spend for fine Philippine fabrics, sewing machines and other equipment was substantial. Trips to fashion capitals were worth it because they were educational, especially when we visited Dior’s “Designer of Dreams” in Tokyo and the many superlative exhibits in the US like the Met’s “Women Dressing Women,” the inaugural gowns of American First Ladies at the Smithsonian, and the floral fashion of Fleur de Ville in Dallas.
Hannah forges her own connections with weavers of piña, abaca, cotton and silk. She taught herself to dye fabrics and pored over 18th-century books to make the technically difficult pannier. That’s the dress that looks wide in front but flat on the sides, to better show off the embellishment. She translated this classic European silhouette into a modern piece that moved beautifully down the runway in Milan. Our photos show people training their cell phones on the dress and standing up for a better look.
Hannah’s aim is to make people think of art when they look at her clothes. Her second piece in the show was a silk gown featuring an off-shoulder band with a lenticular pattern and hand-painted irises. It echoes the spirit of her great-grandmother Marina, who was skilled in construction and loved to paint flowers on her gowns.
Hannah assimilated her lola’s talent for handmade flowers, even if Marina Antonio passed away when Hannah was only six. The red gown with gumamelas and the fuchsia number with bougainvillea are tributes to her beloved Mommy Malu, and these caught the attention of two separate reporters with camera crews. They respectively interviewed and filmed Hannah after the FGI fashion show. We missed the special that aired on Nov. 1 on the Italian TV station Canale 5 because we were in Paris when it aired.
Hannah’s collection made such an impression on the international fashion schools that the next day, they queued up to form partnerships with Benilde. Prof. Jinggay Serag said, “It was soooo fruitful. I was surprised everyone wanted to connect with Benilde. Prof. Olive Jaro Lopez joined so it was easier to manage.”
“Benilde taught Hannah well,” I told Jinggay.
“Hannah did well representing the school,” she replied.
The enthusiastic response and cries of “Bellissima” from the audience were heartwarming. After the show, Marika Bazzani of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Mayor’s Office of Milan went backstage to tell us that she loved Hannah’s vibrant colors and fabrics. Consul Mary Grace Perpetua of the Philippine Consulate in Milan watched the show with colleagues.
The consulate expressed its support in a social media post: “The Philippine Consulate General in Milan extends its congratulations to Ms. Hannah Barrera of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde for her successful participation in Fashion Graduate Italia 2025, held at BASE Milano from Oct. 28 to 30.
“The annual event, which showcases emerging designers from Italian and international fashion schools, served as a prestigious platform for Ms. Barrera, who represented the Philippines alongside global talents. Her participation reflects the growing international presence and innovative spirit of Filipino fashion education.
“Ms. Barrera’s showcase of a contemporary couture collection, designed using sustainable Philippine textiles, exemplified the creativity and craftsmanship of Filipino designers. Her work highlighted how traditional materials and cultural heritage can be reimagined to meet global design and sustainability standards.”
All this and more—the logistics of traveling with the collection, booking the additional baggage and boxes, lugging them up and down steps, sleepless nights, a recalcitrant model, a broken zipper, and a hurried hunt for a merceria (notions shop) open on a Sunday, ditto office supplies, repairs on one of the gowns completed after the technical rehearsals had already begun — made it all worthwhile. I would do it all over again in a blink to help Hannah find her fashion place in the sun.
Since I don’t know how to hand-stitch or press the delicate fabrics Hannah used, I made myself useful by cooking so that Hannah and her professor didn’t have to waste time going out to eat. There was so much to be done.
There was also so much to learn. Models in Europe are much slimmer and taller than models in Manila. The collections of the other young designers that Hannah showed with were also very good. She befriended a number of designers, including Bere Medina of Mexico, and Ro Bradford and Lizzy Fowlkes of Chicago. A personal kind of networking has begun. There is much they can learn from each other.
I first hid from Hannah that I was fashioning a bouquet from roses purchased at Esselunga. But she found out because I had to ask permission from the FGI team to bring the bouquet to the show. Turns out I was not the only mom to do so.
Hannah’s congratulatory roses, as did we, made it to Paris a couple of days after. The trip was a continuation of her fashion education, and the itinerary included the exhibits of Dior, Rick Owens, Azzedine Alaïa and Paul Poiret. Even Musée d’Orsay held a treat for fashion lovers — John Singer Sargent’s “Madame X” and his other portraits that detail fashion so magnificently.
Just six or seven years ago, I was introducing Hannah to Carolina’s and other stores in Divisoria and elsewhere. She took sewing classes under Karen Beltran, the Dutch wife of my fellow STAR columnist Cito Beltran. Karen is a stickler for precise and clean sewing, and now we can spot bad stitching a mile away.
Today, Hannah is the one pointing out to me fabrics and techniques at Armani Silos. She explained how the exuberant black John Galliano gown, located in the middle of the last tableau of Galerie Dior, was constructed. I am now learning more from her than she learned from me.
“You’re so blessed to live and breathe fashion together with your daughter,” said my husband’s half-Italian cousin Cristina Morrica.
We were also so grateful to have the support of DLSU-College of St. Benilde, Dean Ionica Abraham, Prof. Olive Jaro Lopez and, of course, Prof. Jinggay Serag. Benilde tapped the expertise of top stylist Andre Chang, who suggested the milkmaid-type hats that Hannah made and the leather shoes from Andante, which gave a ballet vibe.
In a full life of fashion, one can never stop learning. One evolves through the seasons, as do designers, their collections, and the people who buy the clothes and turn them into a statement of who they are, in that particular point in time.
As for Hannah and me, the journey of a lifetime in fashion together has only just begun. It is one to look forward to as we continue to support each other in the fashion world that we call home.
