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Meet the trans UP student who created Heart Evangelista's bow bag

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ABS-CBN News Intern

<div dir="ltr"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1719467833079heart bag upd.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Reese Latonio (right) is the designer behind the bow bag of Heart Evangelista (left). Photos from Instagram: @iamhearte, @mxreeselatonio"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Reese Latonio (right) is the designer behind the bow bag of Heart Evangelista (left). <em>Photos from Instagram: @iamhearte, @mxreeselatonio</em></span><em> </em></span></span></span></div><p dir="ltr">Creativity knows no bounds, regardless of one&#x27;s gender. The LGBTQIA+ community is making significant progress in breaking into the fashion world, showing that the industry has become more inclusive, moving away from imposing style standards and expanding its designs and trends.</p><p>The creative mind behind the bow bag owned by fashion icon Heart Evangelista is Reese Collins Latonio from Tacloban City, Leyte. He is a 20-year-old junior studying Bachelor of Science in Clothing Technology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and proudly identifies himself as transmasculine.</p><p>Latonio created the bow bag when he noticed that bows were becoming a symbol of traditional feminine expression. As someone who is transmasculine, he wanted to explore his personal definitions of femininity. However, he doesn&#x27;t often lean into them because he is still figuring out that aspect of himself after establishing his masculinity.</p><p>The bow bag&#x27;s creation process started when he had leftover leather scraps and didn&#x27;t want to waste them. He chose leather as a material as it is very close to his heart and represents his concept of clothing safety.</p><p>He also shared that he loves leather jackets because they were the first garments he wore that made him feel like a man. </p><p>&quot;That sort of safety of masculinity paired with what I think currently is one of the epitomes of femininity mixed together created a bow bag,&quot; he said. </p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4AmxhXxIVT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4AmxhXxIVT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><br/></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4AmxhXxIVT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Reese Collins Latonio (@mxreeselatonio)</a></div></div></blockquote><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Latonio enjoys creating things as it offers him the safety to express himself creatively, regardless of gender. </p><p>Despite studying at a science high school before, he considered the course Clothing Technology to be his teenage dream. It was also the reason he wasn&#x27;t allowed to explore the arts. However, deep in his heart, he knew science wasn&#x27;t for him. </p><p>He enjoyed theater, debates, writing, and fashion when he was in high school. As a transgender person, fashion became a safe place for him.</p><p>&quot;So, when I was 15 or 14, I learned again about clothing technology, and I felt like I could. And so far, it has,&quot; Latonio said.</p><div><strong>Meeting Heart Evangelista </strong></div><p>For Latonio, the encounter with Heart Evangelista, a figure synonymous with luxury, was nothing short of a dream come true.</p><p>It was a moment of unanimous agreement when their professor proposed inviting Evangelista to give a lecture on luxury fashion in their retailing class. As Latonio put it: &quot;Because who knows luxury fashion better than Heart Evangelista?&quot;</p><p>When the fashion icon showed up to their class on a Tuesday, Latonio had the opportunity to give her his brainchild, the bow bag.</p><p>&quot;Meeting her and giving her my bag was very surreal in the sense that I didn&#x27;t expect her to be so kind about it,&quot; he said.</p><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@mxreeselatonio/video/7348762969880431878" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7348762969880431878" id="v96574046208382200" style="max-width:605px;min-width:325px"><iframe name="__tt_embed__v96574046208382200" sandbox="allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-same-origin" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7348762969880431878?lang=en-US&amp;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fnews-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Anews-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2024-06-27T05%3A30%3A18.964433%3Adab2200e-d376-47a0-8587-c4afac7f93a3%26action%3Dedit" style="width:100%;height:757px;display:block;visibility:unset;max-height:757px"></iframe></blockquote><script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><p>Prior to their encounter, Evangelista already knew the existence of the bow bag — but in maroon, which is the original bow bag by Latonio. This recognition was a significant milestone for the 20-year-old trans clothing tech student from UP, marking the beginning of a promising career in fashion.</p><p>&quot;Even if at the time I hadn&#x27;t given her the bow bag yet, being on her radar was already, like, so big. You know, because it&#x27;s Heart Evangelista. She has certain standards for things that she likes, and yet I caught her attention,&quot; he said.</p><p>In addition, Latonio felt like he was on cloud nine after being tagged in an Instagram post by Heart Evangelista, who shared pictures of herself carrying the bow bag during her trip to Paris. </p><p>&quot;There&#x27;s a certain sort of gratification that I got from it, that my creation isn&#x27;t just something that&#x27;s near and dear to me. It&#x27;s also something that can be loved by other people, including Heart Evangelista,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>Supporting local designers</strong></div><p>Overwhelmed by the amount of support and recognition he received, the UP clothing tech student thanked the fashion icon for appreciating his beloved creation.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s so empowering as an up-and-coming designer to have Heart literally promote your stuff and believe in what you do,&quot; he said.</p><p>Latonio stressed the significance of celebrities and other prominent figures supporting local, small, and independent designers in the clothing sector. </p><p>He believes that influencers&#x27; platforms and their ability to shape people&#x27;s opinions set them apart from ordinary people — and Latonio is particularly interested in humanizing them, making their role in promoting local designers more effective.</p><p>&quot;I think it&#x27;s super important because there&#x27;s nothing wrong with supporting locals, especially if it means giving jobs to local tailors, local seamstresses, things like that,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>Fashion as a safe space for queers</strong></div><p>Latonio believes that fashion is a broader medium, a canvas on which anyone can freely express their stories and narratives through their creations. This perspective validates the importance of fashion as a tool for self-expression and empowerment.</p><p>As a trans person, Latonio personally considers the clothing industry his playground for exploration where he finds comfort and a sense of discovering their identity.</p><p>He also hopes to inspire other queers, particularly trans people, who share the same interest and passion for fashion, to be unafraid of taking up space and allow their creativity to shine.</p><p>&quot;I always want to be known as the trans fashion designer because I want to inspire people like me who think that their transness hinders them from making it in the industry,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>The creative mind behind the bow bag owned by fashion icon Heart Evangelista is Reese Collins Latonio from Tacloban City, Leyte.</p>

The creative mind behind the bow bag owned by fashion icon Heart Evangelista is Reese Collins Latonio from Tacloban City, Leyte.

Meet the trans UP student who created Heart Evangelista's bow bag

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Meet the trans UP student who created Heart Evangelista's bow bag

ABS-CBN News Intern,

Myra Pasa and Kriselle Portillo

Published Jun 27, 2024 01:58 PM PHT

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