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For young fashion designer Renz Reyes, it was all a labor of love.

One of the three winners of the Bench Design Awards set to showcase his winning collections in Tokyo Fashion Week on Oct. 16, Reyes says his creations were inspired by the 1977 Italian horror flick, “Suspiria.”

Ovoid T-shirt with geometric cutout embroidery and deconstructed mini skirt with contrast stitching

“I’ve been drawn to this film for the longest time,” he says. “What make the movie special are the visuals and production design, which greatly influenced my collection.”

Reyes admits that making his collection was a challenge. “Before the competition, I’ve been developing embroidery treatments for a month. Everything was made from scratch. Once everything was finalized, it took another month to have everything constructed.”

The designer also has a background in embellishments and made sure it was evident in his works.

Handkerchief top with abstract embroidery

Reyes, who graduated with a degree in Fine Arts major in Advertising from Far Eastern University, did further studies at Fashion Institute of the Philippines.

For Tokyo, the designer will make four additional looks to add to his eight-piece collection for Bench.

“I hope to get a good response from the Japanese market,” he says. “This is my first foray into making a complete collection on my own, which I’m truly proud of. Given how surreal this huge platform is, I just want to showcase what Filipino design is.”