Two of the most recognizable Filipino names in global fashion are set to share a New York runway this fall, in a show that organizers say doubles as a homecoming for the Filipino diaspora community that helped elevate them.
Dubai-based couturier Michael Cinco and Los Angeles designer Alexis Monsanto will return to New York Fashion Week on Sept. 12 with a co-presented runway show at the Angel Orensanz Foundation, a partnership that brings their couture and red-carpet aesthetics back to one of fashion’s biggest stages.
The evening is being framed as both a major NYFW moment for Filipino designers and a celebration of Filipino American community networks that have grown around them.
The show, produced under the Art Hearts Fashion banner led by founder and president Erik Rosete, will feature the designers’ spring/summer 2027 collections and mark the third time Cinco and Monsanto have collaborated during Fashion Week.
The runway presentation will be co-presented by TOFA (The Outstanding Filipino Awards), the awards organization that helped bring Cinco to New York Fashion Week for his debut Art Hearts Fashion showcase in 2022, when he first headlined a NYFW runway under a platform that centers Filipino and global designers.
TOFA’s partnership with Cinco and Monsanto builds on more than a decade of recognizing Filipino excellence in the United States and beyond.
Both designers are former TOFA honorees.
Cinco became the first recipient of TOFA’s Global Award in 2022, the year the program expanded internationally, while Monsanto was honored in 2018 at TOFA’s awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York, underscoring their long-standing ties to the Filipino American community and its diaspora cultural institutions.
The Sept. 12 show will also be co-presented by Mrs. Kalayaan 2026 titleholder Iris Capuno, who serves as cultural ambassador of the People’s Ball, along with Ladies for Rizal Inc. in New York, BANTAWAN Productions and Pinoy Pride Global Services, bringing together Filipino civic, cultural and arts organizations in support of the designers’ return to the New York runway.
Organizers say the collaboration aims to spotlight Filipino artistry while strengthening community networks across fashion, advocacy and the arts.
Tickets start at $100 and are available through event contacts Hannah Suarez at 212-500-0591 and Eddy Aranez at 917-945-7706, according to organizers.
Seating is expected to draw a mix of fashion insiders, community leaders and fans of both designers, who have cultivated strong followings through highly produced runway shows in New York, Los Angeles and beyond.
Cinco, who launched his eponymous haute couture label in Dubai in 2003, has built an international reputation for extravagant, crystal-encrusted gowns worn by global celebrities and socialites and shown at major fashion weeks including Paris and Los Angeles. His dramatic silhouettes and intricate beadwork (often described as fairy-tale couture) have made him a go-to designer for red carpet events, high-profile weddings and films such as “Crazy Rich Asians.”
Monsanto, based in Los Angeles, operates the Alexis Monsanto Atelier in downtown Los Angeles and is known for choreographed, theatrical runway productions that blend classical elegance with modern, often sustainable design influences. A graduate of the Otis College of Art and Design and Parsons School of Design, he has dressed celebrities including Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore, Simone Biles, and Karol G during her U.S. concert tour. Regarded as a runway visionary and trailblazer, he presented the first 3D fashion show staged in Hollywood, which catapulted his brand into the top 25 newsmakers in 2011.
Over the past several years, Cinco and Monsanto have frequently joined forces on joint runways and special events, including back-to-back showcases at New York Fashion Week and fundraising galas at the Bowers Museum in California that raised significant sums for charitable causes. Their collaborations often pair Cinco’s opulent couture ballgowns with Monsanto’s sleek, Hollywood-ready ensembles, creating contrast and continuity that appeal to both editorial audiences and red carpet clients.
Rosete’s Art Hearts Fashion, founded in 2010, has become one of the leading platforms for emerging and established designers in the United States, producing high-profile runway shows in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and other cities with a focus on diversity, inclusion and philanthropy.
Cinco and Monsanto’s upcoming show is expected to be one of the headline presentations of the NYFW slate, with organizers touting it as a key moment for Filipino designers on the global fashion calendar.
