In what would have been the year of his 100th birthday, Filipino fashion designer Jose “Pitoy” Moreno’s life and legacy is celebrated in a newly-launched thematic exhibit.
The shutters of designer Jose “Pitoy” Moreno’s Malvar home and atelier had already been painted a new color when art historian Dr. Florina H. Capistrano-Baker, now based in New York, returned to Malate in preparation for the then-upcoming thematic exhibit. Aptly titled “Timeless: J. Moreno,” it was curated by Dr. Baker, assisted by co-curator Ditas R. Samson, and technical and curatorial consultant Clarissa M. Esguerra, a Los Angeles-based fashion curator. Past the wooden horse sculpture on the patio, through the wooden grills that ventilate the home with a gentle breeze, it is as if time has stood still.
The property remains nearly unchanged. Moreno’s Napoleon Abueva chair still anchors the receiving room where politicians would cross paths in what was once one of ’70s Manila’s few politically neutral zones.
Up the stairs, in the atelier area that now serves as the dining room, is his vintage altar table where a framed photograph of the United Kingdom’s Princess Margaret is a centerpiece. For Princess Margaret, Moreno designed a gown that will be exhibited at Kensington Palace in March 2025.
Dr. Baker pored through the designer’s estate, unearthing black-and-white photographs from his time, though the images do not quite capture their vibrancy and sparkle. She also found that he held on to some sketches. One gown sketch caught her attention. It was flanked with notes in two different handwritings, one belonging to Moreno and the other the client’s, asking Moreno to reconsider the gown’s shape; on the page, Moreno comments that the dress will flatter.
That was the kind of designer Pitoy Moreno was. He had a way of seeing beauty in elements and places, before anyone else did. He had that technical alchemy to combine elements from Paris and London, influences from Lumban and Maranao culture. He created multi-dimensional pieces whose sartorial appeal was apparent to everyone.
Archival PITOY MORENO dress. Photographed by Karl King Aguña for the March 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Having studied under Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino (both Philippine National Artists for painting and sculpting, respectively), Moreno drew inspiration from western trends and interpreted them with local fibers, textiles, or through the terno, the Philippine national dress. He made Filipino fashion present in every fashion era. According to Dr. Baker, he always said, “I never want to lose my Filipino-ness.” And he never did.
Close to what would have been his 100th birthday, the book “Timeless: J. Moreno” captures the designer’s dedication to Filipino craft. While it’s an inevitable privilege for designers’ names to be tied to their famous muses—and Moreno had many—their retrospectives are primarily made up of commissioned pieces. “Timeless” has the distinct narrative of displaying a pure creative expression from his point of view. The book examines Moreno’s work from an academic point of view, focusing on the history of dress and his position in it.
The exhibit’s technical and curatorial consultant Clarissa M. Esguerra says that “he designs for a woman who wants to make an entrance, a kind of woman who has the agency to want to be seen.” Even the OPM group Hotdog sang of a Moreno patron in their 1996 hit “Bongga Ka Day!” The verses laud a woman’s showstopping entrance to a party, when she walks through the door wearing Gucci on her feet and Pitoy on her figure.
Gemma Cruz Araneta was one such woman. Contrary to popular belief, she clarifies, “I was never a J. Moreno model.”
Cruz Araneta made her entrance in a different way: by wearing a Pitoy Moreno Maria Clara poolside during the 1964 Miss International pageant in Long Beach, California—while all other contestants wore swimsuits. Contrary to rumors and a viral Facebook post by pageant content creator Missosology, it wasn’t an act of rebellion or defiance.
Archival PITOY MORENO cape and necklace, and TIFFANY & CO cuff from WHISENHUNT FINE JEWELRY. Photographed by Karl King Aguña for the March 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Toni Parsons shows off an intricately embellished PITOY MORENO ensemble. Photo courtesy of THE JOSE “PITOY” MORENO ARCHIVES
“The truth is that the poolside press conference was the first event of the Miss International, so I thought it was to establish the country of origin of each contestant,” she recalls. She had worn a Pitoy Maria Clara to the Parade of All Nations, where she had her own decorated float, going down the main boulevard of Long Beach. “The embroidered piña top with gossamer sleeves, the emerald green billowy skirt appliqued with red and black flowers sparkled in California’s early morning sun.”
She thought, why not rewear it? “To my surprise, everyone else was in a bathing suit,” she says. Photos of Cruz Araneta in Pitoy’s Maria Clara made the news, and she won Miss International 1964, becoming the first Asian pageant titleholder.
One of Moreno’s many patrons is Maritess Pineda, founder of artisanal Filipino fair ArteFino. She shares, “When he takes care of your wedding or any attire for a special occasion, he makes it a point to be there before the occasion and check on all the details, like the venue, your hair, and makeup, all to make sure you wear the attire in the way he envisions it to be. That’s how meticulous he was.”
In the late 1950s, this meant culling everything from the entire country’s fashion history as a costume designer for Bayanihan, or the National Dance Company of the Philippines. He did this in collaboration with costume director Isabel Santos, who also collaborated with designers like Salvacion “Slims” Lim Higgins, and many others like Bert Hernandez and Mary Esteban, studying historical costume as part of material culture and textile as social markers of identity and clothing psychology. Moreno’s studio at the time was across Bayanihan’s headquarters at the Philippine Women’s University on Taft Avenue.
On the floor, Grace Serrano, Pearl Ramon, Anna del Rosario Javier, Meg Paris, Malu Estrella, and Loli Imperial wear PITOY MORENO looks. Photo courtesy of THE JOSE “PITOY” MORENO ARCHIVES
“In 1958, Slims designed the princess costume while Moreno designed her ladies in waiting as fan dancers,” Dr. Baker describes. By 1964, he distinguished himself by making the Singkil Princess dance costume a solid fuschia color to elongate the figure, culminating in a 1968 update of the design in gold lamé that has since become the archetype for folk dance costumes.
The Bayanihan were cultural ambassadors who were prominent and admired. According to Gemma Cruz Araneta, who Dr. Baker interviewed, “It was through Bayanihan that we realized the diversity of our national costume.” Beyond the terno and Maria Clara (traditional dress), Moreno brought attention to dress styles from Southern Philippines and Northern Luzon. His book, Philippine Costume (1995) details his costume research with Marian Pastor Roces.
“The traje de mestiza from the 19th century has always been a hybrid creature, using imported fabrics from Spain, China, and lace from Europe, mixed with nipis tops,” Dr. Baker points out. “The strategy of combining and conflating textile traditions of forms and designs from various geographical areas was not common before and he did it in a bold way.”
During this era, Moreno laid out the blueprint of combining handwoven textiles into the Maria Clara, incorporating weaves from Cordillera and Bagobo Mandaya indigenous communities in his designs with Japanese and Indian silks, then combining it with a top crafted from piña or pineapple fiber. “Moreno did a lot of experimentation to try to unify all these various fabrics and aesthetics, pulling them all together into a look that was distinctively his. It has the exuberance but also the elegance and restraint,” Dr. Baker notes.
More doors opened for Moreno’s fashion shows when Miss Philippines Carnival Queen Conchita Sunico, a society and cultural leader, began organizing the Karilagan fashion shows in tandem with Bayanihan. Moreno and what would soon be the Philippine Couturier Association (encouraged by Sunico with fashion designers Christian Espiritu, Ben Farrales, and Aureo Alonzo, among others) would go on Bayanihan tours until the fashion shows without Bayanihan became more frequent. By the 1970s, the press releases that used to highlight dancers (young ladies from high society cited with their name and lineage) now shifted their focus onto the models.
Archival PITOY MORENO dress and CHUSETTE tights. Photographed by Karl King Aguña for the March 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines
In 1965, Cruz Araneta wore Pitoy again and made headlines; this time was when she married Tony Araneta in Avila. Cruz Araneta was inspired by the city’s history of being under Muslim rule for eight centuries until King Ferdinand I and Queen Isabella II united Spain. She recalls, “Pitoy was known for elegantly incorporating Filipino traditional designs in his creations, so I decided to ask him to design a Maranao-style wedding gown.”
With the most popular movie stars of the time as models, Gloria Romero, Susan Roces, Amalia Fuentes, and Barbara Perez, and prominent society figures like Mary Prieto and Conchitina Sevilla, Moreno’s fame grew with the interest to wear Filipiniana again. After gaining independence from the US, when Filipinos mimicked all things American, it was thanks to these fashion shows that Maria Clara was back in vogue.
Moreno became the go-to for occupants of Malacañang Palace all the way to former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He designed for former First Lady Mrs. Leonila Dimataga Garcia, as well as former First Lady Imelda Marcos. Dr. Baker’s research of old newspaper clippings shows that when he worked with Imelda as First Lady, “he was already established in the same way the Madrigal singers and Bayanihan dancers were already firmly established when Imelda began featuring them in her state dinners and Bagong Anyo shows.” When the First Lady introduced Moreno to her international circle of friends and distinguished royal houses, it was easy to see why they couldn’t resist commissioning a Pitoy. He also designed for American First Ladies like Nancy Reagan, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford, as well as leaders such as Spain’s Queen Sofia.
At present, one famous patron making the headlines once again is EGOT winner Rita Moreno, immortalized as a Barbie doll in November 2024 wearing no less than her Pitoy Moreno ensemble: an evening gown featuring a Sabrina neckline and golden brocade skirt commissioned for the Academy Awards in 1962. That night, she made history as the first Latina to win an Oscar for her performance in West Side Story. She loved her Pitoy and rewore it so many times that she even reworked it into a tube top in 2018, when she presented Best International Feature Film award at the Oscars to A Fantastic Woman.
Such is the case for many of Moreno’s pieces: they get worn and reworked and passed down and reworked again to fit another’s measurements. “When my daughter, Fatimah, got married in Mexico city, she wore that same wedding gown by J. Moreno,” Cruz Araneta shares.
In a striking tableau, Chona Kasten, Cherry Pie Villongco, Perlie Arcache, Jojie Velarde, Maita Gomez, and Jeanie Goulbourn all wear PITOY MORENO. Photo courtesy of THE JOSE “PITOY” MORENO ARCHIVES
As for the controversial Maria Clara she wore in Long Beach and the Maranao-inspired wedding gown in the finest hand-embroidered piña? “They are now family heirlooms, waiting to be worn with pride and love by my two granddaughters, Aurora and Uma.”
Today, full looks are rare and few—making a case for a focus on fashion conservation in the country—the surviving garments showcased in “Timeless,” which have lived full lifetimes and have witnessed pioneering change through the years, still have a lot of life in them, as precious as they are now, looking fresh as ever even when paired with something so contemporary and casual as a tank top or jeans.
Moreno’s showmanship is especially evident in the runway pieces. A yellow kimono-inspired gown, featuring a fully beaded open work chiffon bell sleeve, was created precisely so its wearer could descend, whether down the runway or a grand staircase, with arms spread wide open. Its lacework is as light as cutout bits of Japanese paper that flutter with its wearer’s every gesture.
Pitoy was particularly fond of piña and jusi, though he also worked with different luxury fabrics from Europe and Asia, notably European lace and Japanese silks. One piece on view at the exhibition combines both. Backed by a golden lining that could easily be dismissed as French chantilly lace, when it is purely piña woven using the doble calado or open threadwork embroidery technique, all done in-house by his team of embroiderers. “You look at it and think, why did he punish himself?” Dr. Baker says, laughing. “Why didn’t he just get some lace? Why did he have to create some open lace work with piña? It’s labor intensive.”
But that’s simply Pitoy Moreno. Dr. Baker says, “His designs weren’t really cutting edge; he wasn’t trying to push the boundaries.” And yet he did: from textile design, modernizing the Filipiniana silhouette, including the rest of the Philippines in this evolution, designing a Philippine identity, and taking the Philippines with him as he went global. Moreno always designed as a Filipino for the Filipina creating her place in the world.
“Timeless: J. Moreno,” on view until June 29, 2025 at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in Bonifacio Global City, gives us a first-time opportunity to see Moreno’s vision as closely as we can.
Vogue Philippines: March 2025
₱595.00
By MARBBIE TAGABUCBA. Photographs by KARL KING AGUÑA. Styling by CARLOS MANGUBAT. Fashion Director: PAM QUIÑONES. Makeup: Gery Peñaso. Hair: JA Feliciano. Model: Anya Balingbing. Art Director: Jann Pascua. Cinematographer: Gelo Aldana. Assistant Director: Marko Bonifacio. Producer: Bianca Zaragoza. Associate Fashion Features Editor: Ticia Almazan. Photographer’s Assistant: Ruby Pedregosa. Stylist’s Assistant: Ruzzian Escaros, Markarvin Patiag. Makeup Artist’s Assistant: RK Dela Cruz. Shot on location at National Museum of Natural History.
Special thanks to Jimmy Cruz, Cherry Cruz, Joseph Bawar, Isagani Cruz, Maritess Pineda, and the Moreno Family.
