The hearth and soul of Puey Quiñones
On this rainy day, as I visit the atelier of fashion designer Puey Quiñones—perhaps one of the most interesting and creative I’ve seen—I am blown away by what he tells me.
“Every year, our house in Samar gets wiped out by typhoons. That’s why I don’t have any childhood photos of myself.”
He adds: “We came from humble beginnings. I used to sell ice candy and yema when I was young. My father was a policeman and my mother a schoolteacher and they could not afford to send me to a fashion school.” But when he was 19, Puey started apprenticing under Dennis Lustico, his neighbor in Samar who is now a fashion luminary.
“What I learned by working for Dennis is the equivalent of a Harvard degree in fashion,” says Puey.
And you can say he got his Master’s degree by working in Los Angeles for 10 years, mainly with a bridal shop he helped conceptualize. “Working in the United States taught me what I needed to know about the fashion industry. That being a designer is not all just glamour, fashion pictorials, fashion shows. It’s about hard work—studying the market, price points, discipline, demography. Learning which trends work in different countries. That the LA market is different from the New York market.”
You realize there is probably a bit of LA and New York in this atelier; it is not like the typical designer ateliers in Metro Manila.
Puey Quiñones is atypical. He has a mind of his own. His atelier is just like him—warm, welcoming, comforting, creative with a sense of humor and elements of surprise. You embrace sophistication here, as well as the humility of a man.
“I didn’t want it to be intimidating. I just put together furniture and objects I found from all over.”
Such as what looks like the propeller of an airplane topped by glass, to create a round coffee table, from Restoration. On top of it are amusing little found objects from Quiapo, such as a pair of sculptured ants, and miniature gilded jeepneys.
Branded furniture is mixed with found objects here. On top of his working desk with an asymmetric design by Furnitalia is a boy holding what looks like a balloon. “I found it in a small shop in a Makati mall.”
Lovely ceiling lights looking Filipino and yet global and contemporary are from the T’nalak collection of Maricris Floirendo- Brias. Persian carpets from an Iranian-Filipino, Farzam Sarmiento, cover sofa beds, as they do some parts of the floor.
Puey loves art but says that since he cannot afford artworks by masters, he would rather invest in young, promising artists. “My favorite is an artwork of a woman looking down, as if guarding my display of clothes, by Nelson Bosita.”
He has some fashion-related artworks: a pair of white vintage dresses, each one crumpled on black canvas by Sarah Geneblazo. Then there are two printed frames of scarf designs by model-photographer-designer Jo Ann Bitagcol.
A cloudy scene by Kenneth Montegrande, another by Jeffrey Ordillo, and three works by Filipino-Japanese artist Rio Domingo take the spotlight.
He is fascinated by a painting of a man, a la Gauguin, that he got from Bangkal for only P1,500. Artworks by great artists have, in fact, been unearthed from thrift shops. “You never know,” Puey laughs.
There are plates, candles and scents by Thinne Almeda that are for sale. But not for sale are the rectangular plates, gifts from Sabrina Co, showing Filipinos from past centuries clad in Ilustrado apparel.
Puey also loves greenery and puts Japanese jasmine plants by the windows so these can catch sunlight. “They’re so fragrant when they bloom.” Lush balete trees stand by another window.
Books by his partner, Getty Museum art curator Paul Martineau, have a special place in this atelier. He is one reason why Puey flies to LA every other month.
The other reason is that Puey takes care of his Q Bridal shop in downtown LA. “That’s Q for Quinones and also Q for Queen. Because every bride should feel like a queen on her wedding day.”
Back in Manila, Puey attends to his clientele, which includes Rep. Sandro Marcos for whom he makes barongs and suits, President Bongbong Marcos who likes his shirt-jack barongs, and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos for whom he designs gowns occasionally.
Though he has created outfits for Katy Perry and Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams, Puey prefers to design for real people who appreciate his creations.
Puey also runs a factory making office uniforms and clothing orders from companies. His mother, who taught education values, is the HR manager for his garment factory.
Puey finds fulfillment in training aspiring fashion designers from Samar, “my way of giving back.” Aside from this, he helps his province mates, who seek job opportunities in Manila. “Every day brings new beginnings. And new hopes,” he says. “I like being busy. Work fuels my energy.”
The rain outside this atelier, even if it develops into a typhoon, certainly won’t blow it down. There is a strong foundation keeping it strong and alive. This is the hearth and soul of Puey Quiñones.
