BUDDING artist Bea Cruz of Victorias City has invaded the international fashion field as she earned a title as the 2020 Top Designer in the San Diego, California Fashion Week Fall Runway pursuit, spotlighting her 10-piece elegant Vivirá collection.
Vivirá is a Spanish word for "Will live."
Bea is an alumna of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Fashion Design and Merchandising Program.
She is the daughter of proud parents Paulino and Lourdes Cruz.
Her collection brought forth a new dimension to the contours of conventional Filipino suits such as the Baro’t Saya, Panuelo, and an upcycled Barong.
She is the youngest designer who joined the event, rivaling veteran designers abroad.
She said, being the youngest designer wasn’t easy for her. But she carried it as a motivation to create a collection that encouraged her not only as a designer but as an individual as well.
She was glad to having such a great opportunity to accentuate the elegance of our textiles in the global scene.
"Since they consider me an international designer, I wanted to share where I came from and our culture," she said.
She also shared that due to present travel restrictions inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Cruz made a tough decision in dodging her appearance in her international debut and chose to send her garment collections to San Diego for the show.
Such circumstances posed a challenge for her but she was glad that the organizers made the extra mile to help her along the way citing two Filipino artists Los Angeles-based earring designer Kaitlyn Cabrera and San Diego-based wardrobe coordinator Angel Tan.
They were a blessing to her for assisting her throughout the project.
Despite the roadblocks, it’s nice to know that there’s something she can look forward to and hold on to. She was also glad that she met some amazing individuals across the globe, she said.
She admits there's more to learn in the fashion ropes but it also helped her discover her capability of achieving things she never imagined doing at a very young age and most especially amid the toughest Covid-19 entrenched year.