Jojo Bragais sets foot on the ‘Universe’
The celebrated Filipino shoe designer on how his darkest days led to his passion and the feet of beauty queens
WHEN this pageant-crazy nation tunes in to the much-awaited 69th Miss Universe Coronation on Monday morning, May 17, they will be proud to know that Rabiya Mateo won’t be alone in representing the Philippines in a competition of 74 nations. In fact, every candidate who sets foot on the stage of Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Sunday night (US time) cannot help but bring with her a piece of the Philippines every single step she takes.
From Miss Albania all the way down to Miss Vietnam, every single beautiful vying for the prestigious title will walk taller and more confident with a pair of Filipino shoe designer Jojo Bragais on their feet.
This feat is nothing short of spectacular considering how the very influential Miss Universe Organization (MUO) can tap the most famous shoemakers of the world to be the pageant’s official partner, but no. They wanted to work with the talented 29-year-old of Bicol, Albay in the Philippines because his designs are simply fit for queens. Today, The Sunday Times Magazine is eager to trace this humble artist’s journey toward international renown and find out how one Jojo Bragais — now a pride of the Philippines — eventually set foot in the glamorous world of shoe design.
Rising from the dark
It should come as a surprise to most that Bragais’ degree has nothing to do with the arts. An academic achiever from childhood, this persistent honor student and quiz bee champion was everything his parents could hope for in the youngest of their brood.
“I’m actually a licensed nurse and midwife,” Bragais revealed in a virtual media interview. “When I was young, I really thought I’d be a doctor.”
Making shoes — much less pageant shoes — was the last thing in this contentious scholar-turned medical professional’s mind back then and the farfetched idea only came to him in a personal crisis.
“I found my way to shoemaking in the lowest point of my life. It was a time I suddenly had no direction and didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he confided in The Sunday Times Magazine.
“I was [wallowing] in a remorseful breakup. You know, how when you’re young, you think a relationship is the only important thing in order to survive.”
His heart and spirit broken into pieces, Bragais suffered such deep depression that one day, he even tried to take his own life.
Alarmed by the downward spiral of their pride and joy, his mom thought it best to send him to an aunt in Binganonan, Rizal, hoping that a change of scenery might spark a renewed zest for life, and bring the old Jojo back.
“You know how it is in our culture — when you’re new some place, you’re introduced to everyone. Everyone,” he laughed at the recollection. “Then they’ll tour you around and everything.”
It was on one of those tours that Bragais’ aunt pointed out an old shoe factory to him, and for some reason they decided to make a stop and take a look.
Finding just a couple of machines for sewing and a few molds for shoes, he didn’t think much of the place until he fell into conversation with the owner.
Without going into detail what they talked about, except to say they had a long and remarkable exchange, Bragais agreed to buy the old place the minute the owner made an offer.
“It’s one of those life decisions that you don’t really dwell on — you just know you’ll say yes… [because] when you’re down and depressed, the days are long and you just want to keep busy,” was all the explanation he could muster then.
About face
Now the new owner of an old shoe factory, Bragais did what he needed to do: learn to make shoes.
“I had no formal training in making shoes but I did have a bit of knowledge in carpentry techniques. So, everything I knew from there — like the use of nails, screws and so on — I just applied,” he recalled of his unique apprenticeship
“I would say I became risk-taker then and I am until now in making shoes,” he added. “If I think it will work, I’ll do it.”
When he finally felt ready to open for business, it took two whole months before he made his first sale. He took a major step into something uncertain for the very first time in his life, but was determined to take the challenges in stride.
Then one day, it all became clear. Bragais knew he had forged the right path when a debutante who had a feet deformity known as pes cavus [a high arch] came in with her mother.
Getting emotional as he told the story, he recalled how the girl’s mom painfully told him how her daughter has had to endure the discomfort of closed shoes because she had no other choice.
“She was crying when she asked me to help her daughter and even when I gave her the shoes I made. She was so happy and she hugged me tightly, and it just meant so much to me,” Bragais continued, still moved by the memory to this day.
“So, from then on, I started to love shoemaking and I’ve been giving my heart and everything I can ever since to make the best pair of shoes I can for others.
Unexpected turn
Following that life turning moment for Bragais, comfort became his guiding principle in his new
found calling.
“I have an older sister who also told me, an uncomfortable shoe is not a good shoe so that became my foundation.”
In fact, Bragais sheepishly admits he is so serious about comfort that he even wears his creations to make sure they feel as comfortable as he intends them to be.
Over time, he started gathering a clientele who love walking beautifully inside and out, but according to Bragais, his foray into beauty pageants was by accident.
“I have a very good friend Yvethe Santiago from Bicol who joined Binibining Pilipinas [who was eventually crowned Binibining Pilipinas Supranational 2014].
“I told her, ‘Pandi [a Bicolano term of endearment for brother], I don’t have the money to support you financially [when she went into pageant], but I can give you all the shoes you need for the competition’.”
As fate would have it, Stella Araneta, Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) founder, fell in love with Bragais’ shoes and quickly offered him to become a partner in succeeding editions. So in 2015, Bragais supplied the shoes for the Binibining Pilipinas candidates for the first time, including his next muse, would be Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach.
The rest, as they say is history, with Jojo Bragais making a name as the go-to shoe designer of beauty queens, with the likes of Miss Intercontinental 2018 Karen Gallman and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray walking in his designs and handiwork. Because for them and countless other beauties, only Jojo Bragais sky-high platform shoes — at 6.5 and 5 inches — can provide them that extra height for confidence and the comfort to walk in them.
And just like that debutante long ago, the accidental shoemaker knows he plays an important role in journey of aspiring beauty queens.
“They carry the heavy weight of the pageant pressure to be able to walk with them as they achieve their dreams in life, in confidence and comfort, is just priceless for me,” he expressed.
Road to ‘Universe’
Even as partnering with Binibining Pilipinas year after year is already a huge achievement for any shoe designer, fate obviously had bigger plans for Bragais. Apparently the world, the universe, rather, is the ultimate destination of his careful craftsmanship.
On April 17, MUO announced that Bragais had been commissioned to be the official footwear partner of the 69th Miss Universe competition.
“All of our delegates walk with purpose, strength and in their own unique stride. Presenting the official footwear sponsor of the 69th Miss Universe competition Jojo Bragais, who empowers women to ‘Walk. Win,’” MUO’s post read.
Asked how the huge development came about, Bragais replied, “The very first time I received a call from Mario Garcia [marketing and business development head of MUPH] offering me the partnership, I didn’t believe him. But the next day, I got a call from Shawn McClain [MUO business and marketing head] and that confirmed it. I was just dumbfounded; I couldn’t believe it.”
He cried too, he came clean, not only for achieving the unexpected, but also out pride as a Filipino singled out for his work.
Grateful for the opportunity to show his work on a global stage, he knew it was only fitting to reflect diversity in his collection for Miss Universe 2020. Naming it after his dear friend Jehza, the collection comes in four colors: Caramel, Cream and Cocoa for the candidates’ opening number; and Silver for the swimsuit competition.
The MUO, whose only request was to make the
shoes as simple, elegant and as comfortable as can be, immediately fell in love with his designs and understood the varying intensities he had to make from nude.
“Most nude shades won’t survive stage lights; they’d come off as off-white,” he explained. “So, what I did was to find fabrics and customize the colors. I’m confident my Jehza shoes will still carry their colors even in the brightest of stage lights.”
For a quick round up, Bragais’ Cream Jehzas complement women with whiter complexion; Caramel for Asian candidates given its yellow undertones that work with their skin color; and finally, Cocoa shade for women with darker complexions what with its red undertones.
Among the three shades, Bragais said it was Cocoa he found most challenging to make. He tested multiple swatches before deciding on the final shade, and was quickly rewarded for his careful scrutiny.
The women he made Cocoa for have since sent him their appreciation with Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi expressing their sentiments best. She said, “As a black woman, a woman of color, I truly appreciate the range of colors that you bring onto the shoe. Believe it or not, in 2021 it’s still a struggle to pick out something that matches or at least comes closer to your skin tone. So, to have that range and to make sure that all women are going to feel comfortable in picking a shoe, I think that’s really fantastic so kudos to you, Jojo Bragais.”
Happy enough to be able to help people feel good about themselves and confident to go for their dreams, Bragais can only hope that our Rabiya Mateo and every single one of the candidates on Miss Universe’s stage on Monday will feel all the more inspired to give their best when they walk in his shoes.
“I want this achievement — my own journey — to inspire the girls and even those who are struggling or starting out their own passion in life. When I started, I started from scratch, and if I was able to make it this far, I’m pretty sure they can make it too,” Bragais ended.