HOME coming

BEA CONSTANTINO traces the fine threads that weave between her cultural and creative lineage through her work at STUDIO SÜG.

- SAM POTENCIANO

IN 2021, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC, stylist Bea Constantino found herself in the midst of a sea change both personal and professional. Having just experienced the loss of her father during an already tumultuous period, she found herself increasingly introspective and in search of a deeper connection to “home.”

While she grew up in Manila, she had been raised on stories centered around her ancestral hometowns: Zamboanga and Sulu. “I cared a little about these stories when I was younger,” she shares, “but as I got older, I craved to know more about my ancestors and their hometowns. I felt like each story allowed me to get to know myself more and more.”

Years prior, during another transformative period in her life, Bea also found herself circling back to these roots. Putting her career as an in-demand stylist on hold in order to start a clothing label called Herman and Co., affectionately named after her great great grandfather, Herman Schück. As an ode to her maternal grandmother’s penchant for pairing couture pieces by Aureo Alonzo with traditional Tausug ensembles, the brand made a name for itself by combining seemingly disparate elements, like traditional Mindanaoan weaves with contemporary pieces like bomber jackets and crop tops. “I tried to see what would happen if I married my fashion know-how with my heritage, which led me to revisit my hometowns as an adult and to see them through my family’s lens. The whole experience gave me such an inexplicable sense of belonging and self-awareness.”