Fashion designer Veejay Floresca has come a long way in just five years. Ever since joining the very first Project Runway Philippines in 2008 where she bagged third place, plenty of design opportunities presented themselves. She was then able to put up her own shop, keep a steady stream of clients, and even became a mainstay at the biggest local fashion weeks. Now, Veejay just staged her first LA Fashion Week show.
How she got there may seem like a blur but it was no easy feat. In 2011, Veejay flew to London to study Vintage Fashion Bridalwear at Central Saint Martins. This fueled her vision for the “Floresca bride,” which later became the inspiration for her “Madore” bridalwear collection. But the goal didn’t just end there. She had her eyes set on New York Fashion Week. The year after, she took a two-year masters degree in Fashion at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco with the mindset that it could be her ticket to the show.
Veejay believes that opportunities don’t just happen; they are created. Upon completion of the course, she flew in to New York to audition for Project Runway season 14. Among the 86 applicants, she was among the seven to make it to the final interview. And though she didn’t make the cut, that didn’t stop her. She made a 10-piece collection and participated in the LA Fashion Week Design Competition. This time, she won.
Now, her mind is keen on an even bigger prize: to show in New York. This year, she sent her thesis collection to the New York Fashion Week panel in the hopes of finally making it. Though she still didn’t, she remained unfazed. She added four more looks to the collection and just this week, it went up live on LA Fashion Week S/S ’16 for the world to see.
“In life, we don’t always get what we want, even we work hard for it. But it doesn’t mean we should stop and quit,” she says. “Work harder and do Plan B. There are always opportunities waiting if we are passionate and dedicated, and if we believe in ourselves.”
Proving that putting up a good show is not just a breeze, Veejay runs us through all the motions of staging one of the biggest shows of her life. Through a photo diary, she lets us in on her journey—the midnight sewing, literal bloody moments, and, of course, the fashion. But most importantly, we see a Veejay we’re usually not made aware of: positive, determined, and always grateful.
See Veejay Floresca’s road to LA Fashion Week through her photo diary above!
Photos courtesy of Veejay Floresca