27 January 2026
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Production Design Program (ABPRD) celebrated its 30th year with re/visions: building worlds, a showcase held from January 10 to 24, 2026 at Fundación Sansó in San Juan, Metro Manila. Twenty Production Design students presented scale models, theater set maquettes, and costume designs that showed how storytelling can shape worlds and spark reflection.
Audiences saw how students turned scripts and ideas into vivid spaces. Ignacio Luis Mendoza captured this spirit when he said, “A world without production design is a world without any colour. In storytelling, the spectacle is what immerses the audience into the script or the story.” Ignacio’s thesis, Kung Yuyurakan ang Gubat, imagined a “trash-topian” world built from upcycled materials, linking folklore with environmental care. Ignacio gravitates toward costume design and styling, and has always felt at home behind the scenes. For Ignacio, the magic of theatre lies in creating unforgettable experiences for audiences, one show at a time.
Design also became a way to ask social questions. Dreu Fernandez presented LOOK HERE, a reimagining of A Series of Unfortunate Events that critiqued adult paternalism through a Gorey-inspired aesthetic. Dreu explained the motivation simply: “Pursuing production design is for people who love bringing all the visual elements of a story together. It is the art of world building.” Dreu is driven by curiosity and thrives on hands-on work across costume, props, and SFX makeup. Building a foundation at Benilde, Dreu has already contributed to major stage productions and is setting sights on theatre, advertising, and live events.
Identity and culture were strong themes too. Rosh Par’s Refracted Bodies redesigned Steven Universe through queer readings, creating multisensory spaces that resist heteronormative structures. Rosh described production design as deeply personal: “Production design is my escape from reality. It lets me imagine freely and transform those ideas into experiences and emotions.” Rosh’s practice reflects an avant-garde eye and a fascination with distortion and experiment. Whether on stage, behind the camera, or with a brush in hand, Rosh thrives in spaces where performance, beauty, and imagination blur.
Students also showed how design can balance artistry with responsibility. Anyra Landayan expressed this philosophy clearly: “I create at the crossroads of commerce and culture, making work that carries endurance. My work is not just decoration, it reflects stories, identities, and experiences.” Anyra’s thesis, Aking Sinta, reinterpreted The Handmaiden through sapphic Filipino history and Spanish colonial culture, blending research with creative reclamation. Anyra envisions a career in film and theatre, specializing in hair, makeup, and prosthetics. For Anyra, every handcrafted detail is part of a bigger vision, each look integral to telling a narrative.
Other participants in the exhibit included Carleen Calamba, Missy Comia, Diane De Los Reyes, Kristine Joean Dimas, Hannah Sophia B. Dugenia, Kia Garcia, Arthur Christian Ladera, Katrina Lynn P. Mercado, Domenique, Jeremy Pablo, Maniel N. Palarca, Kyla Ragaza, Pink Stuart, Charles Torralba, Danella Ty, and Mariz Victorio.
The exhibit design and artistic direction were led by Production Design chair Lawyn Cruz, with curation by Alain Zedrick Camiling. Thesis advising was provided by BJ Crisostomo, Santi Obcena, and Lara Acuin, whose guidance helped shape the students’ projects into fully realized presentations.
Staged at Fundación Sansó, which has previously hosted Benilde projects such as the reinterpretation of Sansó’s surrealist fabric designs into fashion ensembles, re/visions: building world marked thirty years of the program by bringing the graduating designers’ visions into dialogue with the gallery’s history. It was a celebration shaped by craft and imagination, and a reminder of how Benilde continues to place young creatives within spaces that connect them to a wider artistic community.
For more information on Benilde’s undergraduate programs, contact us at (63) 2 8230 5100 local 1801 or admissions@benilde.edu.ph. You may also visit our website at www.benilde.edu.ph.
