A lot has been written and said about the Filipino designer over the years. Today, he stands on the shoulders of the success born from his hard work.
It was a few days shy of his 2024 Holiday Collection salon show, and Puey Quiñones had just gotten off a flight. The fashion designer shuttles between Los Angeles and Manila, crafting beautiful dresses for his clients on both sides of the world.
With nary a trace of jetlag, he, with his husky-chow mix Lily by his side, wore a warm smile as he welcomed The Post into his atelier. Vibrant and eclectic, the space is a reflection of the colorful life that he has redesigned for himself. A proverbial plot twist in the fickle world of fashion.
A lot has been written and said about Puey Quiñones over the years. He went from rising young designer in the early aughts, known for his avant-garde design, to moving to the US to reset and recalibrate. In an all too familiar story, he took whatever challenges hard and in stride, determined to climb his way back into fashion’s good graces.
If that thing didn’t happen, I would still be a shitty designer. It was meant to happen for me to grow.” This self-realization fueled his drive to rebuild from the ashes of his past life. Today, he stands on the shoulders of the success born from his mistakes and hard work.
On the infamous incident that sent him packing halfway around the world, Quiñones boldly declares: “If that thing didn’t happen, I would still be a shitty designer. It was meant to happen for me to grow.” This self-realization fueled his drive to rebuild from the ashes of his past life. Today, he stands on the shoulders of the success borne out of his mistakes and hard work.
“Humility is very important, as long as you understand what you’ve done and its consequences,” he muses. “Make mistakes. It makes you human. But accept and learn from them. The best I can do is be better than myself.” As his reputation as a designer and clientele grew overseas, Quiñones could not deny the personal advocacy calling him home to Manila—to encourage young people to dream big like he once did. “Fashion is for everyone. Not just the rich kids. Anything is possible, if you continue working and believing.”
And he hasn’t stopped dreaming for himself, and the industry he loves either. A renewed passion for textiles opened up new doors of opportunity for Quiñones. With a need for good fabrics locally, he has been working with suppliers in the US to source enough quantities not only for his own clients, but to make available to his fellow designers. Looking ahead to bigger things, he is also in talks to design and produce his own fabrics.
That said, he has not lost sight of the work to be done with local weavers. “My goal is to really use the raw materials and local fibers here to develop a new kind of fabric,” says Quiñones excitedly. His prayer is that the next generation will see weaving – through education – as a “cool” way of life, ensuring the preservation and longevity of the weavers’ culture. Quiñones’ admits he cannot do this alone, hoping to rally the fashion industry behind this vision, saying, “The designers are just the users, but the weavers are very important.” Community work, eschewing individual credit in favor of the nation.
He does challenge the notion that there is a genuine resurgence in love for all things local. “I am happy to hear about it, but the market is very targeted. Not everyone can afford the handwoven materials. So for many, it will still be a novelty.” True to form, yet again, for this rulebreaker.
Quiñones credits his husband, Paul Martineau, whom he met through a dating app and married in 2020, for striking a balance in his creative vision. A curator for the Getty Museum, author, and fellow art collector, they are kindred spirits.
“My husband is very classy, elegant, and conservative. He is my opposite,” he says fondly. “When he tells me “Hon, maybe lessen one thing,” I listen. Our marriage is perfect because there is balance. He calms me down.” His husband also plays the role of adviser when Quiñones begins dreaming up a new collection—“We imagine the music, the fabrics, and who is wearing them together. I love that we can talk about anything and everything about fashion.”
I’ve been through a lot. I’ve been held back and forth. It’s time to go back to basics, but with a touch of Puey Quiñones.”
Puey’s vision for the 2024 Holiday Collection was a return to the old world—where elegance and classic silhouettes were the norm —but reimagined as only he can. “I want something that is timeless,” he points out. “I’ve been through a lot. I’ve been held back and forth. It’s time to go back to basics, but with a touch of Puey Quiñones.”
That day, he was in the middle of editing the pieces for the show —draped on mannequins in the middle of the salon – making little tweaks here and there, explaining, “I used fine fabrics like silk shantung for the gowns. We’re also experimenting with some terno.” The intimate salon show, held in Quiñones’ atelier a few days later, gave guests an up close look at the craftsmanship and detail work that he has become known for.
The shapes and the embellishments were bold, but whispered of sophistication. Swathes of fabric were manipulated into pleats, drapes, and ruching as though poured onto each of the models as they walked in. Silk black rosettes stood out against a sculptural yellow gown, while a tea-length pink terno was très chic. Classic black and white took a step into modernity as gowns with a myriad details giving it dimension and volume without going over the top.
Men are not left out of the conversation with menswear that dare them to think out-of-the-box. A suit jacket is amped up with a standing pleated collar, while a kimono worn over wide-leg pants make a statement for a formal affair.
Details of some of the pieces in Puey’s 2024 Holiday Collection
Despite all his success, Quiñones credits his continued drive to evolve, do, and be better
in life to just one word—hunger. As most rags-to-riches stories go, he grew up poor in
Northern Samar, with no electricity until he was ten years old. “I was always hungry for
anything that is beautiful and fabulous,” he ponders. “When you come from nothing, it
drives you to be creative. That’s where my passion comes from.” Where a typical meal
being “toyo, asin, and mantika on rice,” he would imagine up a table filled with lechon and pasta for himself.
Years later, with his first paycheck from his time at Bergamo, he turned imagined into reality by treating himself to a steak dinner at Old Manila at The Peninsula. “When I first tried it, I couldn’t understand the taste. It was like carabao, but it was tender, “ he quips. These days, Quiñones can dine on anything and anywhere he wants, but he finds the most joy preparing meals at home for Paul, friends, and family. His trademark recipes? “Couture” bihon guisado and humba!
One thing that’s been constant for Puey Quiñones is that his idea of what fashion is and
should be are not for the sartorially faint-at-heart. Shadows of his avant-garde past
continue to peek through, but has seamlessly woven itself into this new aesthetic and
clientele. Standing in the middle of his art-filled atelier, he has found his space, and
reclaimed his peace, by taking giant leaps of faith unfazed by life and the challenges
that came with it.
“God always knows what He wants to do for you. I think it happened at an early age because he wanted me to serve more and do better,” says Quiñones. “You will not be called successful if you did not go through failure or hurt. For me, ruin was a gift and the road to transformation.”
Now that’s what they call it a hero’s comeback.
