THE PRACTICAL POET OF PHILIPPINE FASHION

Ready-to-wear master Rhett Eala takes his turn at the Red Charity Gala 2025.

- AA PATAWARAN

On Oct. 4, the 14th Red Charity Gala will raise its curtains for Rhett Eala, the 13th designer to take his turn on a stage that has hosted the Philippines' foremost talents. A new chapter of Philippine fashion is written each year by designers like Michael Cinco with his crystalline fantasy, Rajo Laurel with his masterful drama, Lulu Tan Gan with her textural reinventions, Chito Vijandre with his historical and literary alchemy, and Furne One with his dazzling theatrics. This year belongs to Rhett, whose story is one of restraint, wearability, and a devotion to beauty that is never out of reach.

"When I saw Lulu's last year, I was so happy," Rhett told me. "I said, 'I could do something like that.' Because, 'di ba, when you think about Red Charity, it's Furne, Ezra—all the fantastic designers. I said, 'I'm not like that.' With Ivar also." What he saw in Lulu's understated elegance was a path for his own voice to be heard in a venue often associated with spectacle. "When I saw Lulu's, I said, 'Oh, so I can do it, too.'"

Rhett has never been one to create fantasy for its own sake. "I'm not naman a designer who designs fantasy clothes. I like to design clothes that are beautiful and wearable. Of course, I start out with beautiful fabric, then I figure out what to do with it."

Wearability is not a compromise in his hands; it is his philosophy. "Well, I think it has to make the woman feel beautiful. It also should be practical. I guess maybe because I'm also like a '90s kid, eh, so it's a bit more minimal. It's not about a lot of decoration."