Designer Bonita Penaranda’s latest La Isla collection brings the city girl’s ultimate summer party
This Designer Profile is an excerpt from MEGA’s April 2023 Issue
“I love the Victorian era,” says designer Bonita Penaranda. “I’m fascinated with vintage things. So, I borrowed the idea from the past, like Queen Victoria empowering herself by wearing corsets. That’s the brand’s purpose: empowerment.”
Some designers took their time to build their names. But in Penaranda’s case, it was sudden and necessary—it became a game of survival. She was a celebrity fashion stylist whose job, like that of many, was put in jeopardy because of the pandemic. With 20,000 pesos left in her bank account, she took the risk and invested the meager amount in starting her own brand.
“I was also heartbroken in June of that year,” Penaranda admits. “And I didn’t want to go back to the place where all my childhood trauma was. I needed a distraction, and I was getting broke.”
The Just Bonita label’s very first offerings were made-to-order corsets that were tied at the back, with the goal of making such pieces an everyday staple. Despite the many restrictions at the time, the designer was still in an all-out party mindset: she still wanted to dress up and feel sexy—and that became her core.
JUST BEAUTIFUL
During BYS Fashion Week in October 2022—Penaranda’s first-ever show and defining moment when she realized her potential as a designer—she was given the euphoria theme for her collection. From the heart-pounding music and pink runway with glitters to the disco ball accent and fitting each piece to the models’ personality, it was all her work and grand vision. She didn’t want to settle for anything less. The ultimate inspiration? The glamor and fever dream found in one of New York’s most famous nightclubs: Studio 54.
“My market is the party girls—the city girls!” the 29-year-old creative exclaims.
For Penaranda, what she’s doing is not exactly revolutionary because anyone can easily copy what they are doing. But what’s truly remarkable about the brand is its solid identity—it has its own undeniable trademark, a whole persona.
“That’s why it’s Just Bonita,” the Slim’s Fashion and Arts School alumna says. “You are just beautiful.”
Read more about Bonita Penaranda’s new La Isla collection in MEGA’s April 2023 issue, now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photography JERICK SANCHEZ
Creative Direction NICOLE ALMERO
Fashion Direction RYUJI SHIOMITSU
Beauty Direction MIA CASTRO
Styling NAVZ ABDUJARAK of NEW COLLECTIVE STYLE assisted by SOFIE CRISTOBAL
Makeup VHIO VILLARICA
Hair VINCE CUSAY
Model JELLA JOY
Sitting Editors BAM ABELLON and MARIAN SAN PEDRO
Fashion Assistant BITHIA REYES
Intern RAYA AÑASCO
Special thanks to MARJORIE MALABAD of LUMINARY MODELS
