Privilege that can’t be designed away
How much money does it take to mount a fashion show? If you’re hiring over 40 models, hair and makeup, designers and clothing materials, feeding a hundred or so guests, and decking out a venue, plus renting a venue and paying for light and sound equipment, it’s easy for your bill to climb way over a million pesos.
So, if Michael Ellis Co were truly independent from his family, just how did he pay for it all in his early 20s?
Known in fashion as the co-founder of .Archives, his last name carries weight that no runway can outrun. While Ellis has recently claimed independence from his father, former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co—implicated in billion-peso flood control corruption—his extravagant, self-mounted runways tell a different story.
Beyond Zaldy, their clan includes Claudine Co (the internet’s least favorite nepo baby), daughter of Christopher Co, whose construction firm allegedly received massive ghost project budgets. Meanwhile, communities have failed to receive corresponding flood control infrastructure, and have drowned in heavy, and even not-so-heavy rains.
Known as the co-founder of .Archives, together with creative director Aya Reika Mayani, the brand launched in 2022 with “future-oriented conceptwear” and has even presented collections in Manila, Paris, and Tokyo.
Now in his mid-20s—and acknowledging his privilege—Co wants you to believe that he’s built .Archives independently. And while he has been called many things, like fashion designer and musician, most recently, he has been dubbed an “enfant terrible.”
A statement that raised more questions than answers
On Sept. 24, Co released a lengthy statement on Instagram while scrubbing his feed clean of other posts.
“I’m here to address this situation,” he begins. “Though I bear my last name, I’ve always tried to separate myself from that affiliation,” Co writes. “I am not just speaking out against a politician; I am speaking out against my father. And if this decision gets me disowned, I would rather face that consequence than watch millions suffer from his actions.” Here, Co positioned himself as a political heir choosing art over corruption.
In his statement, Co claims to have grown apart from his family since their political rise, working since he was 16, and supporting himself through work like uniform designing and investments from his mother (Isn’t she still family, though?), though he called it “a loan we’re expected to pay.”
He then credited .Archives’ team of 15 tailors, 10 staff members, and three designers, noting his goal was not only to break even, but to offer grants for small local designers. Co also criticized the online discourse revolving around harassment and hateful comments, expressing a willingness to provide transparency and proof of .Archives’ integrity, which the public is waiting for.
He closes with a public plea to his father, “Come home and answer to the people. Have your time in court. People need answers. Free those who were unfairly imprisoned, and seek justice for those who put their lives at stake.”
This, however, was not universally well-received. For some, it read as a rare, bold act of defiance from a political heir. Others were more skeptical, as it came across as damage control.
Regardless, here’s a look at some of his previous fashion collections, which he calls “Arcs,” staged under his brand.
“Memoirs of the Future”—an ostentatious first show
In July 2022, Co presented “Memoirs of the Future” at Whitespace Manila, collaborating with director Frank Mamaril. Designed as a multi-sensory presentation, the event paired fashion with a generously catered culinary spread and live renditions of Vivaldi by the Manila String Machine, layered with beats produced by Co himself. He is, apparently, also a rapper and producer under the name “Ellis G,” with a five-track EP called “Big Money Corp The Album” containing songs such as “Big Money” and “Black Lexus.”
Taking from Japanese minimalism, eco-brutalism, and contemporary design, the 44 looks moved through androgynous looks with tonal sequences of black, white, and neutrals. Models sported boxing gloves, bleached brows, sculptural hair, complete with detailed nail work.
The night ended with sets by US-based artist Jalen Davis, also known as Molly or MDMA, and DJ Patty Tiu.
“Digital Oasis”
Despite claiming separation from the Co dynasty at 16, Ellis Co launched his ARC 02 collection in July 2023 at the Midas Hotel and Casino—a property owned by Sunwest Group, the company led by his father.
The show was pure spectacle, with futuristic elements, such as dramatic floor-to-ceiling metallic cone installations, timed light beams, and an industrial-futurist soundtrack. Forty-four models filed out onto the circular runway, donning monochrome looks and sculptural silhouettes that leaned into avant-garde territory. The production also brought together collaborators such as creative consultant Jerome Lorico and musical direction by DJ Nix Damn P!.
“Phases/Faces”
The designer then released the “Phases/Faces” collection also in 2023, this time at Co family-owned Misibis Bay, staged by veteran fashion show director Robby Carmona.
Lifestyle.INQ editor Sophia Berbano Concordia attended the multiple-day event in Albay, writing, “Bursts of wind accompanied the techno rhythm of the show’s music as guests mingled. Several feet of gray hardwood lined the famed Bicol beachfront to serve as the models’ catwalk. Supersized silver floaties grazed buoyantly over the water, almost as if there were giant mirror balls gliding through the ocean’s surface. Absolutely no expense was spared in preparation for .Archives’ most personal collection yet.”
Inspiration was two-fold: Twenty-one different individuals who either positively or negatively affected him and co–founder Mayani, and Bicol as “an oasis or escape.”
The collection also drew from brutalist Japanese architecture, Virgil Abloh, and the 2021 film “Dune,” with a largely neutral color palette in whites and beiges. On stage were many Bicol-based models, along with Filipino rapper Al James.
Carving out his own path or riding on privilege?
From Manila’s shimmering casinos to the exclusive Misibis Bay resort, Co’s shows have leaned into scale and spectacle, and .Archives runways are as dramatic as they are polarizing.
In his statement, Co may have written that he tried to separate himself from his family, but it’s hard to believe, with runway shows staged at family-owned properties. More so with over-the-top productions and hiring highly sought-after, likely pricey people in the industry. It’s clear to the public that all these elements cost a heck of a lot of money.
But how are we to see Co as an artist instead of an heir? The question is not whether he can design, but whether he can ever truly separate himself from the dynasty that made these runways possible.
As the public debates whether Co is carving out his own sartorial vision or simply riding on the privilege, the question hangs: Can fashion truly be separated from its funding? And is Ellis Co’s work that good to allow absolution, without reckoning?
At most, it’s clear that in these fashion shows, Co’s statement and budget do not add up to something “self-made.” Because privilege, acknowledged or not, can’t be designed away.
