Fil-Am Hollywood designer to hold fundraising show for museum
Hollywood designer Alexis Monsanto has established a diverse portfolio in America, with accomplishments ranging from dressing Oscar winner Charlize Theron and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles to designing uniforms for Marriott Bahamas and spearheading the wear test program for Alaska Airlines’ wardrobe.
The world-class Bowers Museum in Orange County will feature Monsanto’s couture collection, drawing inspiration from the Qin Dynasty. This collection will be presented alongside the upcoming exhibition, “World of the Terracotta Warriors: New Archaeological Discoveries,” opening on May 22.
Monsanto’s color choices and embellishments originate from the jewels and colors favored by women in Emperor Qin’s court, and from depictions of mythological dragons, hand-painted cranes symbolizing longevity, and clouds found in the art of China’s first great empire.
Monsanto became engrossed in historical accounts detailing the grim fate of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s concubines. Those who failed to produce offspring were executed and interred with the emperor, a practice that continued during his son’s reign.
“I use phoenix designs,” he explains. “I treat these concubines as phoenixes rising from the ashes.”
The designer’s use of materiality in fashion, similar to its application in art, emphasizes the inherent qualities of fabrics and materials. He employs technology to incorporate techniques such as origami, specialized pleating resembling dragon scales, laser cutting, and 3D processing, among other fabric manipulations.
The project stemmed from a fundraising event for an AIDS service organization at the Bowers Museum with Dubai-based designer Michael Cinco and Monsanto. Weeks later, Monsanto received a call from the Museum to meet with Anne Shih, chairwoman, and Dr. Sean O’Harrow, president and CEO. Upon arriving for lunch, they opened a champagne bottle and congratulated him on his collection at the Bowers and LA Fashion Week. They proposed that he do a fashion show on May 22 as a fundraiser. Monsanto will be the third to be featured, following Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry and the Guo Pei collection.
Starting mainstream
Monsanto was born in Misamis Occidental, and initially studied medical technology at Velez College of Cebu to appease his parents. However, his passion led him to assist Philip Rodriguez and Leonardo Igloria, where he learned sketching, client relations, and fashion show production. In 1993, his family relocated to Los Angeles, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Fashion Design from Otis College of Art and Design.
Following graduation, Monsanto gained experience with various ready-to-wear manufacturers in Los Angeles. He began as a backroom coordinator, managing inventory, shipments, and other operational tasks. He progressed to roles such as cutter, assistant, head pattern maker, and head designer, which included attending trade shows and obtaining approvals from merchandisers.
He continues to design capsule collections for brands sold at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, collaborating closely with sales teams..
“I have to ensure the design sells; that’s the core of my role,” he explains. His design projects also include dress shirts for Cado and Bassiri, with designs, including embroidery details and knitwear, being outsourced abroad.
Additionally, he undertook projects and refined patterns for Unisync, a leading Canadian manufacturer of uniforms and corporate wear. His involvement extended to the National Association of Uniform Manufacturing and Development, a network of image apparel and workwear companies, through which he secured projects for creating uniforms for hotels and other establishments.
“I never stopped creating. After hours, I would be making clothes for evening and weddings in my apartment,” he says. “I work for mainstream fashion to gain more knowledge and to get the Rolodex of the companies,” says Monsanto. This experience has helped him in ordering fabrics and designing his fabric patterns, working with the mills.
Monsanto became known for his celebrity dressing. “I live in a bubble where there are a lot of creatives. I’ve established a lot of connections in the PR industry, work in the awards shows. Some sit on the board of the Golden Globes. They also recommend us to films and production companies for the Oscars. When there’s an opportunity, they’ll call.”
Hollywood connection
David Magdael & Associates, an entertainment and corporate communications agency, called him to request a gown for the representative of “Trouble the Water,” a documentary on Hurricane Katrina, which was nominated for the Best Documentary Film Category in 2008. Monsanto was informed on a Tuesday that someone was attending the Oscars, and it was only three or four days away. “I delivered. I don’t pay a PR company to represent me. It’s all about cultivating relationships,” says Monsanto.
His brand, Alexis Monsanto Atelier in West Hollywood, caters to affluent clients and celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Karol G, Felicity Huffman, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, to name a few, as well as beauty queens. In the past two years, he has done red carpet predictions for both the Golden Globes and Oscars at the local stations KTLA 5 and KSCI TV.
Unlike many couturiers who have large staffs, Monsanto works with only two seamstresses and interns from Los Angeles Street Technical College, where he teaches, and Fullerton Community College, where he sits on the advisory board.
Asked how he manages to work with celebrities, he replies, “Walang tulugan (sleepless nights.)” Last year, he had only four days to create an outfit for Colombian singer Karol G. “The stylist says, ‘Just charge us,’” he recalls. Likewise, he was tasked with creating her wardrobe for her US tour. “The clothes needed a lot of bling. We got Swarovski crystals, and a computer system that uses excess crystals to form a design. You just heat-press it for 20 seconds to adhere. This works well for large, straight areas of fabric. This makes me a clothing engineer. For smaller, curved spaces or gaps, my team and I manually add the crystals.”
Monsanto is notable as the first American designer to use 3D technology, following Burberry, the first luxury brand to hold a 3D fashion show broadcast live globally. In 2011, The Dream Factory, a European creative agency, contacted him to create a 3D fashion show for a 3D film festival. These shows employed technologies such as 3D modeling, animation, and VR to produce immersive and visually striking presentations, featuring models wearing 3D-rendered clothing. This approach allowed for the exploration of new design concepts, the use of digital fabrics, and the creation of unique garments.
“The audience wore 3D sunglasses. Prints and décor of my dresses were projected on the screen,” he recalls.
His prolific work led to him receive the President Biden Lifetime Achievement Award, along with 10 other Filipino trailblazers, at the 12th Annual TOFA (The Outstanding Filipino Awards) in 2022.
Continuing his lucky streak, Monsanto partnered with Michael Cinco for New York Fashion Week in Spring 2023. “I felt like David to Michael’s Goliath,” he says. Last October, his Atlantis collection at LA Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2025 earned a standing ovation. Monsanto, as always, delivered.
