How Nadine Lustre made a fashion designer’s ‘wildest dreams’ come true

Nadine Lustre has long been known for her incredible artistry—and she has taken it to a whole new level in her visual album dubbed ‘Wildest Dreams.’ 

In this brilliant masterpiece, she cast a sultry spell with different ensembles carrying unexpected pops. Two of these, in particular, stood out for us as they easily made the singer’s gorgeous gaze and fearless beauty shine. Their sleek finishing touches made them quite irresistible, too, and so we decided to do a little digging.

The designer: Jude Macasinag, a 20-year-old fashion designer based in Paris, France.

“Lyn Alumno initially contacted me in July requesting to either pull out or commission some pieces to be worn in Nadine’s visual album,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “Because of the difficulty in logistics (sending from Paris to Manila in the middle of a pandemic), I dove into my archives which consisted of works from 2016 to 2018—garments that were made before I moved to Paris. Out of a number of pieces loaned, Nadine got to wear these two outfits.”

Completed by hand using abaca, neoprene, glass beads, gold ribbon and thread, freshwater pearls, 5-centavo coins, brass, and Chinese jade in 2016, the Sunburst Beaded Top holds a special place in his heart as the very first garb he made himself.

Taking inspiration from the “Sunburst” sculpture of Napoleon Abueva, it was translated into his creative individuality. This, aside from the fact that his surname, Macasinag, “if roughly interpreted, meant ‘to shine (like the sun’s rays)’.”

Particularly relating it to Lustre’s work, he said, “I interpret her wearing it as an embodiment of a heavenly being, a total divinity.” 

In its next segment, the actress wore another Macasinag number called Figure 1.6. He carefully crafted it using gold brocade, epoxy, sequins, glass beads, and crystals in 2018 for his Suvarnadvipa collection as he took reference from the Boxer Codex.

“It suggests of the Filipinos’ sense of spirituality in self, nature, and heavenly beings,” he explained. 

The fashion designer later revealed that dressing the songwriter has been on his bucket list since 2017.

“I find it surreal that three years later, all thanks to Lyn, I finally see her wearing my work. It’s also incredibly special that Nadine adds to the history of such personal pieces of mine. I guess I could say that she, too, made my wildest dreams come true,” he concluded.

Photos by Ed Enclona, taken from Macasinag’s Facebook post