Day 2 of MNL Fashion Week opens with Randolf, known for its deconstructed modern takes on Filipino formalwear.
The show is held at SMX Aura on September 4, 2026, with The Waiting Room—designer RJ Santos’s heartfelt collection inspired by an unlikely four-day stretch between death and birth.
RJ’s newest collection began after his grandfather passed away just four days before the birth of his niece, Sari.
From that experience came an imagined space somewhere between the real and unreal, life and death, memory and hope.
“This collection, The Waiting Room, was inspired by something deeply personal,” the designer says.
“My grandfather passed away just four days before my niece was born, and it made me think about that space between an ending and a beginning.”
He imagined a place where his grandfather could meet Sari, while the dogs his family had loved and lost could also gather around her.
That sense of suspension translated into a runway filled with contrasts: structured and fluid, opaque and sheer, delicate and utilitarian, restrained silhouettes punctuated by intricate patterns and tactile details.
Read: Everything you need to know about MNL Fashion Week 2026
RANDOLF: BUILT ON REPETITION
For The Waiting Room, RANDOLF deliberately stepped away from the more distinctive looks that have characterized previous collections. Instead, repetition became part of the storytelling.
“This season, my love for repeat patterns and textures resurfaced,” the designer affirms.
“Instead of making each look feel completely expressive on its own, I wanted the collection to feel more uniform and connected, with repetition becoming part of the story.”
A fitted taupe button-down, for instance, was paired with wide, knee-length shorts and carried alongside a bouquet-like arrangement, while oversized shirts appeared with colorful graphic motifs and unexpected layers of black ruffles.
Cream tailoring came in the form of a long, relaxed coat with a contrasting dark collar, worn open over printed shorts.
Sheer fabrics repeatedly surfaced throughout the collection.
One look paired a translucent shirt with colorful panels and lace-trimmed shorts, while another layered a delicate, pale skirt with multiple horizontal bands of translucent fabric, bows, ribbons, and small dangling details.
A veil extending from the latter look obscured the model’s eyes, complementing to the collection’s theme of existing between what can be seen and what cannot.
Print and surface treatments were equally prominent. A vivid blue jacket splashed with red and yellow effects was styled with a short denim skirt, while floral and illustrated motifs appeared across tops, trousers, dresses, and outerwear.
The collection also played with proportions.
A sleeveless cropped top was paired with loose trousers featuring colorful edging, while a pink-and-green romper with a scalloped bib-like panel was grounded by heavy black combat boots.
Elsewhere, a sheer floral dress was decorated with circular fabric appliqués, ruffles, and colorful patches, giving it the whimsical quality of something assembled from memories.
The designer’s fascination with “skin shed” pieces also appeared within the collection, becoming a recurring motif inspired by snakes shedding their skin.
“I’ve always been amazed by snakes shedding their skin and have always applied that fascination through my designs,” RJ says.
He adds: “More than anything, I hope people leave thinking about the stories they carry with them.
“If the collection encourages people to see beauty in those transitions, or simply reminds them that every ending can also become the beginning of something else, then I feel it has done its job.”
Among those seen at the RANDOLF show were Anne Curtis, Enchong Dee, BJ Pascual, and Mimiyuuuh.
Read: Nadine Lustre, Michelle Dee walk MNL Fashion Week Day 1 runway
With only two shows on the schedule for the night, MNL FASHION WEEK 2026’s second day made room for two markedly different visions of fashion.
After RANDOLF, Jerome Lorico closed the night with a collection that felt otherworldly: a study of nature, survival, restraint, and the tension between the organic and the industrial.
It was fitting, then, that Lorico’s runway did not resemble a conventional fashion-show set.
The studio floor was covered with a thick layer of white salt, transforming the space into an uncanny approximation of a beach or barren shoreline.
Behind the models, a massive screen played moving images of waves, creating the illusion of an endless body of water against the stark landscape.
The result felt dystopian, as if the audience had been transported to a world where the sea had receded and left its mineral traces behind.
“If there is something that I realized over that silent while, it is the wisdom in restraint, inner confidence of one’s own work and vision, and truth in the message you want to impart to your audience,” Lorico mentioned.
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LORICO: BETWEEN THE RAW AND THE INDUSTRIAL
The clothes echo the environment’s stark, almost post-apocalyptic quality.
The collection opens with looks in a restrained palette of black, gray, white, and blue.
A black hooded knit top was paired with dramatically loose pinstriped trousers and a sculptural, netted handbag, while another look transformed pale gray knitwear into an oversized, poncho-like top with a high, wrapped neckline and wide trousers.
Texture was central to the collection. Ribbed and pleated surfaces gave the garments movement, while knitted pieces appeared deliberately manipulated and sculpted.
One striking gray ensemble featured an asymmetrical jacket with exaggerated, sculptural shoulders and an extended scarf-like collar, worn with voluminous trousers.
A blue-gray fringed accessory added another tactile element to the otherwise monochromatic look.
The silhouettes moved between concealment and exposure.
A sheer black dress was gathered and cinched with a wide belt, its translucent fabric revealing the body beneath while trailing into an irregular, asymmetrical hem.
Another black look pushed the idea further, with a fitted sleeveless garment featuring cutouts across the torso and dramatically gathered fabric extending from either side of the body like wings or discarded layers.
A particularly ethereal gray look appeared almost elemental: a draped halter-like dress opened at the legs and framed by enormous panels of fabric that stretched outward from the shoulders and arms.
As the model walked, the fabric moved like sails caught by wind, connecting the human figure to the waves playing behind her.
Elsewhere, sheer black layers were given a more severe, almost ritualistic quality.
A long translucent dress with dramatically pleated sleeves was cinched at the waist with a sculptural black belt, while thick knitted scarves wrapped around the necks of several looks, providing both warmth and visual weight.
The collection’s accessories maintained the same utilitarian-meets-surreal language— from soft, cage-like bags to sculptural fringed pieces and substantial black footwear.
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A RETURN TO NATURE
For Jerome, the collection is rooted in the contrast between his childhood in Albay, Bicol, and his life in Manila.
“I am a probinsyano... Being a city dweller takes a lot from your inner peace and balance. Growing up in a small town in the province, I was used to being surrounded by nature, the sea, and the natural beauty that humans need to connect to.”
For Lorico, knitwear became the medium through which the tension between digital and natural could be explored.
“Sculpting knitwear is like molding water,” he said, describing fabric as something with “its own life and voice” when given enough attention.
That philosophy was visible throughout the collection, where knitted surfaces were stretched, folded, gathered, draped, and transformed into silhouettes that rarely remained conventionally structured.
The designer’s connection to craft runs deep. Both of his parents were basket weavers, and his family operated a small handicraft business in Albay.
Now, that heritage is being carried into an increasingly international chapter.
The Manila collection will introduce Lorico’s upcoming Paris exhibition in October, bringing his exploration of fashion, art, design, and craftsmanship to an international audience.
His show was attended by Pia Wurtzbach, Charlie Fleming, and LA Aguinaldo.
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