Rhett Eala comes full circle with return to RTW
What he has learned and what he’s doing right, as designer unveils 3rd store opened during pandemic in Greenbelt 5
While many others were closing shop at the height of the pandemic, Rhett Eala did the unthinkable: He opened a pop-up boutique at Power Plant Mall.
“You have to be willing to take the risk,” he says in hindsight, as he opens his third shop at Greenbelt 5, Makati City, this week. His second store opened in SM Aura last December.
In the new store, on the second floor of Greenbelt 5 (where Bergamo used to be), Eala’s ready-to-wear is shown alongside those of Ivarluski Aseron and Jo Ann Bitagcol, and the jewelry and accessories of Tweetie Gonzalez.
There’s more than enough room, at 150 square meters, Eala points out, and the plan is to open the space also for a few young designers. “It’s my way of giving back,” he says. “I’d like this space to be the jumping ground for others to hopefully have their own retail space in the future.”
When COVID-19 hit, Eala found himself suddenly shut out of his workshop in a Makati village, which, for health reasons, barred nonresidents from entering. His workers were stuck in the subdivision. As a pivot, his team began making masks, with Eala managing the operations remotely. (He has since moved his atelier from that village.)
It was difficult, but “we had to adjust,” he says. The Power Plant space was initially a pop-up—“Luckily, they had a space available,” he says—then when things took off, it became permanent.
Forte
Eala comes full circle with his return to RTW. He was an in-house designer at Rustan’s in the 1990s, where he designed the womenswear brand called Due.
In the aughts, he had a very successful if shortlived stint in RTW with his Glorietta boutique called Wink, which popularized those chiffon ponchos that were copied everywhere. He closed
shop after two years and concentrated on made-to-order. He also worked with Collezione as its creative director—it was he who placed the embroidered Philippine flag on the brand’s polo shirts, another design element of his that was much copied.
In 2017, he joined the ArteFino bazaar, “and it’s what made me want to go back to RTW. I’m very grateful to them for that.” Off-the-rack, he realized, has always been his forte.
“I still do a few made-toorder, for longtime friends and clients, but it’s no longer my bread and butter,” he says, noting the rigorous demands of making custom wear. “I’m not getting any younger. Let’s leave the custom wear to the young ones.”
Past mistakes, coupled by the challenges of the pandemic, taught him to do things differently, Eala adds. “It took a while to learn to manage money, and to know how to forecast trends. With a small capital, I decided it was best to do it on my own.”
Motivation
Customers are now back to wanting occasion wear and smart day looks. By early next year, he plans to introduce off-the-rack gowns.
Getting to where he is today was a test of trial and error, especially as he opened a store when there were no events and occasions to go to. “People asked me to make pambahay (loungewear). But they didn’t really sell,” he says with a chuckle.
Instead, he found the winning formula in his lacetrimmed separates and beautifully embroidered pieces. Then Vice President Leni Robredo wore his embroidered tops almost exclusively on the campaign trail.
“I think I’m more aware of the market. I’m in touch with customers. I listen to what they want. My focus now is work, I no longer party,” he says. “The goal is just to work hard, to not be overexposed or it will be hard financially.”
He’s glad that he was able to keep all his workers. “I run a tight ship.”
His biggest motivation? His nephews. Eala’s younger brother Dennis died suddenly of a heart attack in 2018, and he became responsible for Dennis’ sons.
“Those kids motivated me. It’s funny how tragic things that happen in your life become the very things that eventually lift you,” Eala says. “I miss my mom and my brother so much. What I do is for my family.”