R’Bonney Gabrielof short duration Project Runway the journey finally revealed his greatest strength: perseverance.
Refusing to give up on himself and his dream, the 2022 Miss Universe and the Filipino-American fashion designer never gives up on her favorite pieces, including the design that brought her home from an American reality TV show.
“I love this design, but the judges didn’t, and that’s okay. I will forever believe that trying and failing is ALWAYS better than not trying at all,” R’Bonney said in a social media post on Monday, July 20.
“We can easily express ourselves to avoid taking risks out of fear or rejection, shame, failure…but who cares? Life is too short not to look for opportunities.”
R’Bonney also teased plans to release upgraded versions of the design under his own label, R’BONNEY NOLA, as the piece received a lot of love from his brand’s followers and his own.
R’Bonney was eliminated in the first week of Season 22 of the aspiring designer reality competition, returning home with six other contestants in the second episode on Thursday, July 16.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel safe after this experience. It definitely makes me question myself as a designer, but I’ll take this as a lesson to learn,” he admitted. “I just want to devote more time to my craft and fashion business, and I want to keep improving that.”
Entering Project RunwayR’Bonney shared, it was her way of proving that she is more than a beauty queen.
“I had all these dreams of success that could come from competing on this show,” she said in a vulnerable and honest Instagram post.
“The opportunity to have time with the hosts, to immerse in the design room for a long time without any other distractions. I was thinking about it and it was very limited.”
Fans of R’Bonney — whose father Remigio Bonzon “R. Bon” Gabriel is Filipino — know that fashion design has always been his passion. Prior to her Miss Universe journey, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Fashion Design with a minor in Fibers from the University of North Texas.
In the final question and answer that won her the title of Miss Universe in 2022, she shared how she uses “fashion as a force for beauty.”
R’Bonney uses sustainable and recycled materials for her clothes and teaches sewing classes for women survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence. Her independent fashion label, R’BONNEY NOLA, uses sustainable design methods and is handcrafted in small batches.
The piece he chose to show Project Runway represented those experiences and values, as the collection was created entirely from repurposed denim.
However, despite his love for the obscure art, R’Bonney realized that he might not have “understood the work” when Project Runway The judges said they were looking for something more “inspirational”.
“I made a very bad decision about the design I decided to bring from home,” the 32-year-old said. “If I could do it all over again, I would have brought a different piece. I’ve been sewing for 15, 16 years and there are many other pieces I could have brought that would have shown my skill or looked like they took too long (to make), but I brought a piece that was one of the latest and that I really wanted.”
Rejections, in the midst of discouragement and discouragement, finally encouraged him. It made him realize that he needs to focus on his craft more than ever.
“This does not define me as an architect. This does not mean that I am not talented,” he said. “I want my design work now to be my last shining star.”
This passion and determination has already served R’Bonney well in the past, as he has already produced works that shine in their own right.
In 2024, he launched his first collection at the Bench Fashion Week Holiday. She sourced her materials from recycled fabrics and scrap metal with unique shapes, creating pieces that combined different elements of streetwear, inspired by her hometown of Houston, Texas, with beachwear, representing the beautiful beaches of the Philippines to celebrate her Filipino origins.
Soon after, she was the featured designer for Fashion for Freedom, a Dallas fashion show supporting My Refuge House, a non-profit organization in Cebu that provides comprehensive and therapeutic care to survivors and communities affected by commercial sex abuse.
Her collection, “And The World was Hers…” featured sunset-inspired colors and updated leathers all sourced and made in the Philippines.
The debut of this collection in Texas, his home state, with clothes found in the Philippines and for the benefit of Filipinos, was a full circle event for R’Bonney. “Style is good, but style is better when it is used for a greater purpose.”
Even when R’Bonney was frequently invited to Miss Universe events and hosting opportunities, she would still struggle to create her own look for the pageant. He always documents the whole process on his social media, becoming a source of inspiration for young designers.
To keep his face fresh Project Runway looking back as redirection and not rejection, R’Bonney looks to the future.
“I’ve been doing so many other things in my career that I haven’t just focused on design,” he said.
“Going in Project Runway it was a sad and humiliating experience and it certainly did not go as well as I had hoped. But as disappointed as I am, I’m just looking forward to investing more in my craft and building my brand.” – Elise Suarez/Rappler.com
Elise Suarez is a Rappler student from Puerto Princesa City and a Humanities student at the University of Asia and the Pacific.
