When Kenneth Barlis steps back onto the New York Fashion Week calendar this fall, it will mark another milestone in a journey that began thousands of miles away in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.
The Los Angeles‑based couturier is set to unveil his Spring/Summer 2027 collection on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, where he is billed as one of the headlining designers in a multi‑show NYFW lineup.
Barlis, 32, was raised in Mindanao by a single mother and immigrated to the United States at 15, an experience he often credits for sharpening both his work ethic and his resolve to dream beyond his circumstances. Growing up in a Muslim community, he was surrounded by vivid textiles and layered patterns – influences that now surface in the saturated jewel tones, intricate beading and structural silhouettes that have become his signature on the runway.
Fashion was not his first plan. He initially studied health sciences and biology before a decisive pivot to fashion design, launching his namesake atelier in San Diego in 2012 and later expanding with a boutique in Los Angeles. In 2018, he founded the KB School of Fashion, training aspiring models for international pageants and global runway shows while building a business that spans eveningwear, menswear and custom bridal.
Television viewers met Barlis on Season 19 of Bravo’s “Project Runway,” where he emerged as one of only 16 designers selected from thousands of applicants. The experience, he has said, was “life changing,” forcing him to be more resilient as a young, gay Asian designer navigating both the pressure of reality TV and moments of anti‑Asian bias on set. That exposure helped accelerate a career already expanding beyond the runway and red carpet into costume work for major studio projects.
In recent years, Barlis has designed for Marvel’s new series “Wonder Man” and contributed looks to shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Selling Sunset,” further cementing his presence across television genres.
His work has also traveled to the stage, with costume pieces appearing in musical tours including “Wicked” and “The Lion King” in Los Angeles, adding another layer to his profile as a designer who can move seamlessly between couture, pop culture and theatrical storytelling.
Today, his client list reads like a pop‑culture roll call: Carrie Underwood, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, RuPaul and Michelle Yeoh have all stepped out in his theatrical, hyper‑detailed designs. Critics have praised his shows for their sense of spectacle; one New York Fashion Week review noted gowns that “shimmered with jewel‑toned gowns – emerald, sapphire, ruby, and fuchsia,” each demanding the audience’s full attention.
That maximalist sensibility is expected to carry over to his upcoming Gotham Hall presentation, where fans can anticipate pageant‑inspired drama, sculpted tailoring and dense handwork in embroidery, beadwork and feathers.
Barlis has also ventured into costume design, collaborating with Disney on custom pieces for the television series “American Born Chinese,” and he continues to nod to his Mindanao roots by incorporating indigenous textiles like the traditional malong in select collections.
Beyond the runway, he used his platform during the pandemic to produce and donate KB face masks to hospitals in San Diego, reflecting a community‑minded ethos that often threads through his projects.
His NYFW return comes on the heels of recognition within the Filipino global community, including being honored in 2024 at a TOFA (The Outstanding Filipino Awards) ceremony in Hawaii – a distinction that cemented his status as both a fashion name and a diaspora success story.
For many Filipino American fashion fans planning to fill the historic Gotham Hall rotunda in September, the show will be more than a night of couture, it will be a homecoming of sorts for a designer who has turned humble beginnings into a global brand, one dramatic look at a time.
