29 September 2025
Veejay Floresca just made fashion history. She won Season 21 of Project Runway U.S., becoming the show’s first openly transgender and first Filipino champion. Before the spotlight and sculptural silhouettes, she was a full scholar at Benilde’s Fashion Design and Merchandising program, graduating cum laude. Her win speaks to the kind of grit and clarity the program has long nurtured, where fashion blends craft with business and stories are stitched with purpose.
Her final collection was personal, polished, and built with intention. It honored her late father and showed how fashion can carry both emotion and precision. “It tells the story of resiliency and dedication into something that you really want,” she said. That clarity traces back to her time at Benilde, where she trained as a full scholar under the Fashion Design and Merchandising program. She learned to design for real people, to build pieces that speak and sell, and to treat fashion as a livelihood with lasting impact.
“Fashion is a business,” Floresca said. “I want to take this win and make a successful brand to create clothing for people.” That kind of thinking is exactly what Benilde’s fashion program builds toward. Students learn to sketch, prototype, and pitch ideas that work in the real world. Her win shows what happens when creative vision is backed by clear strategy, and when a scholar knows how to turn ideas into impact.
She entered Benilde as a full scholar, balancing studio work with academic rigor. That discipline shaped her approach to design: intentional, inclusive, and built to last. It also shaped her persistence. “I’ve been told ‘no’ 13 times trying to get there… I kept going until they said yes,” she said of her years trying to join Project Runway. “I went to the competition with one goal and that is to win it.” Her win is a reminder that talent grows when given structure, mentorship, and room to move. Today, aspiring fashion students can apply for the Benildean Excellence in Scholastics and Talent (BEST) and Saint Mutien Marie Wiaux Scholarship (SMMWS), both designed to support creative talent with strong academic foundations.
Floresca graduated before Sinulid was launched, but her readiness back then already pointed to what the program would later formalize. Her graduation collection was runway-ready, built with intention and technical skill. “My design aesthetic is always about the balance of concept and wearability. I design for real people,” she said. Years later, Sinulid became the platform to showcase that same level of preparedness, giving student designers space to present work that’s personal, polished, and industry-aware. Her win is exactly the kind of outcome Sinulid was built to support.
“Being the first Filipino American trans woman of color to win this iconic competition is a celebration of authenticity,” Floresca said. “Fashion is for everybody.” At Benilde, that spirit is built into the program’s foundation. The Fashion Design and Merchandising program doesn’t select for background or identity. The program welcomes students with vision, discipline, and the drive to create fashion that speaks to real people.
Her story is one of grit, clarity, and follow-through. It also shows the kind of work the program continues to nurture. From culminating collections to full runway showcases, Benilde’s FDM program trains designers to think clearly, work precisely, and stay grounded in purpose. With scholarship pathways like BEST and SMMWS, it opens doors for students who are ready to shape fashion that speaks, sells, and stays true to real people.
For more information on Benilde’s scholarships and grants, contact us at (63) 2 8230 5100 local 1821 or scholarships@benilde.edu.ph. You may also visit our website at www.benilde.edu.ph.
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