Fil-Am designer Dominique Schleider debuts 15-look collection at Stanford University

Filipino-American designer Dominique Schleider unveiled her debut runway collection, "Weather Any Storm," at Stanford University in California, transforming the school's iconic Terman Fountain into an immersive fashion show.

The 22-year-old designer is currently studying Symbolic Systems at the university, an interdisciplinary program that combines computer science, philosophy, psychology, and linguistics.

Born in New York and raised in Singapore, Dominique comes from a Filipino-American family, with her mother's side based in the Philippines and her father's side from the United States. She returned to the United States for college and recently presented "Weather Any Storm" as part of her studies at Stanford.

The 15-look collection was the culmination of more than a year of work, inspired by her experience studying fashion in Milan.

While fashion is now a major part of her life, Dominique said her first creative pursuit was far from the runway.

"In truth, my first creative pursuit was actually opera singing. I sang classically for many years before coming to college," she said.

Her parents, both lawyers, encouraged her to explore creative interests from an early age.

"They've never pushed me towards that. And they're very supportive of everything that I do," she said.

Dominique's interest in fashion grew during her university years. She credits her mother and grandmother for inspiring her appreciation of style.

"My mom and my grandmother are both very fashionable. And so I got my interest in fashion from them," she said.

However, it was a sculpture class at Stanford that pushed her toward designing clothes herself.

"I made a wooden puffer jacket. I sculpted it out of wood. And so that's what started my interest in actually making clothes, not just appreciating them," she said.

Inspired by rain and resilience

The idea for "Weather Any Storm" began while Dominique was studying at Istituto Marangoni in Milan.

"This whole collection started when I went abroad last year. I did an exchange semester in Milan at Istituto Marangoni. And it was there that I, you know, learned a lot about tailoring and got a lot of my fabrics for my collection. And after I went to Milan, and I came back, and I was telling all my friends here, like, about my studies there, it just inspired me so much to want to do a whole collection of my own," she said.

The collection explores the emotional and physical experience of rain while also encouraging a more thoughtful approach to clothing.

"The original inspiration for the collection was about rain. It's simple as it was raining in Milan. And I noticed like, how single use rain garments feel like, if you were wearing rain boots or a raincoat on a sunny day, it might look out of place. And so that's what inspired me to kind of design clothing with like rainwear silhouettes," Dominique said.

She explained that she became interested in creating pieces that could be worn in different situations rather than garments with only one specific purpose.

"I was inspired to try and make things that felt more versatile that you could dress up, dress down, you can wear it in many occasions, in many weather conditions, so as to not have to consume and thus and then later waste like so many items," she said.

She said she believes that designing versatile clothing can help reduce unnecessary consumption and waste in fashion.

The collection also incorporated sustainable materials, including fabrics from Italian textile producer Manteco.

"I partnered with this Italian mill called Manteco, which does a lot of recycled wool fabrics that are a very sustainable conscious mill. And so I had one huge wool coat that was like using their fabric and you know, it's very beautiful and also very good for the environment," she said.

Beyond the clothing, Dominique wanted the collection to carry a message of hope.

"One of my biggest motivators now is in the spirit of joy and hope," she said. "Even if you go through the darkest of times, as cliche as it sounds, you'll always be able to go through it—rain or shine, calm or storm."

Honoring her Filipino roots

Although she grew up outside the Philippines, Dominique said her Filipino heritage remains an important part of her identity.

"I've never lived in the Philippines full-time," she said. "I've always felt as if I wish that it was a bigger part of my identity."

That connection found its way into "Weather Any Storm" through one of the collection's most personal looks.

Dominique revealed that Look No. 12, which she calls "Cora" or "Corazon," was named after her late grandmother.

"I even included some of her Philippine pearls in this collection for one look," she said. "I think lightness is also one of the qualities or like values that inspires my collection. Kind of like this idea that you can be like anywhere in the world and like pack up your entire life and take it with you."

Dominique also spoke about her admiration for Filipino creativity and her desire to stay connected to her roots.

"I think that the Philippines is just such a creative space and one that I would love to see celebrated on the global scale," she said.

After gaining experience at New York and Paris Fashion Weeks and interning at Vogue Philippines, Dominique hopes to continue building a creative career after graduation.

"I would love to launch my own label. I enjoyed so much of the process," she said. "I'm definitely going to be doing something creative."

For aspiring Filipino designers, her advice is simple.

"I think you'd be surprised how much just a simple ask can go," she said. "I would just say honestly pursuing your interests and creating that which feels most authentic to you, because I feel like that authenticity really shows through."

—MGP, GMA News