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Pinoy Abroad
Look who's wearing a Rajo Laurel gown — Tyra Banks!
“Look who’s wearing you Rajo Laurel, Tyra Banks!” tweeted a designer friend of top Filipino designer Rajo Laurel. American supermodel Banks recently wore a long graphics print dress by Laurel for the seventh episode of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) Cycle 18. 
Browsing through the official Facebook page of Banks, Bautista spotted a photo of her wearing a gown designed by Laurel.
Rajo Laurel
The photo was actually taken before the shoot of the seventh episode.
During the show, Banks, ever prim and poised in the Laurel gown, stood to announce who among the contestants was eliminated.
Laurel, one the country’s top designers, said he was put onto cloud nine the moment he saw the photo of Banks wearing his design, tweeting, “Jumping up and down right now like a madman! What an incredible feeling!”
He recalled the moment when Michael Carandang, Laurel’s cousin and the Filipino producer of Banks’ show ANTM, told him to dress up Banks who sent him her body measurements.
It came without a promise. Carandang beforehand told Laurel not to expect his clothes to be worn or even to be featured on her television show.
For Laurel, it was a surprise.
“This feels like a dream! It’s almost surreal! I mean, I just watch the woman on TV and now she is wearing my work!” Laurel wrote on his blog. “I am so grateful to my cousin for pushing me and urging me to make and making all these happen!”
Inspired by insects
Tyra wears a Rajo in this viral photo.
The dresses and gowns in the collection were minimalist – with colors black and white, and long curvaceous lines that followed every woman’s body.
Laurel created the collection because of his “deep fascination” with insects. The dresses have already been tried by several celebrities here and abroad, starting off with Bethenny Frankel, one of the stars of The Real Housewives of New York, who wore a design in one of its episodes.
In the September 2008 issue of Preview magazine, actress Bea Alonzo had one of the dresses on as she graced the magazine’s front cover.
In 2011, Apples Aberin, a judge in Project Runway Philippines, walked on the red carpet of the Philippine Fashion Ball with the same insect gown worn by Banks.
An award-winning designer
Laurel’s love for fashion kicked off since when he was a child but it wasn’t until young adulthood that it finally took off.
It was even enhanced when he was trained in New York Fashion Institute of Technology and Central Saint Martin’s in London.
With his sister, Laurel founded “House of Laurel” in 2000, a boutique fashion house in MakatiCity offering both couture and ready-to-wear apparel.
In 2004 and 2005, he was chosen to represent the Philippines in a fashion week held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Laurel also received various awards throughout the 18 years of his career. Among his awards were: the “Young Designer of the Year” award by Air France in 1994, an ASEAN Special Award in Tokyo, and People Asia magazine’s “Person of the Year” award in 2008. - VVP, GMA News
