I snuck away last week to this Bed & Breakfast place in Beverly Hills, Taytay, Rizal called Date and Dine Resort for the launch of Rafael Rosell as Obra ni Juan’s brand new celebrity endorser.
It was in Sta. Lucia Department store where the hubby and I first took notice of Obra ni Juan some years ago. We were pretty impressed by the workmanship of their clothing line and we have since been a believer and patrons of the brand. Which is why the invite for the launch of their celebrity endorser was a privilege for us to witness. Aside from the lovely time we had in getting to know the family behind Obra ni Juan, it was a marvel to learn the history behind the brand.
About Obra ni Juan
Obra ni Juan is a unique line of men’s apparel that is truly Filipino. It is a fusion of traditional Filipino design and global fashion personifying the Filipino ingenuity at its best. Obra ni Juan started out in 1997, having a small “patahian” in the owners’ family house. It is a family-owned business which primarily focused on the tourist market. The first outlets were lobby shops of five star hotels, duty free shops, and the famous Amanpulo Resort in Palawan.
Due to the influx of domestic buyers, the brand eventually progressed and opened branches in department stores nationwide. From a workforce of ten employees, the company now has at least a hundred employees. Obra ni Juan is made of special woven fabrics which show exquisite craftsmanship. In fact, some authentic collections are handcrafted and dyed manually to offer the best quality.
Obra ni Juan has big things planned in the near future. With the advent of foreign brands dominating the local market, we at Obra ni Juan, will continue to be innovative to be at par with the world’s best.
We were able to have a peek at one of the rooms of Date and Dine Resort, the owners of which are that of the Agapito Family, the same family behind Obra ni Juan. The lovely hideaway Bed & Breakfast resort is a place we would love to check out sometime soon. Maybe on the hubby’s birthday celebration in less than a week’s time? Here’s hoping they have an available room then. 🙂
Humble Beginnings
Obra ni Juan is owned and managed by the Agapito siblings. The Agapitos hail from Roxas City, Capiz which is known to be the country’s seafood capital. Del-z, the eldest, was a commerce graduate major in accounting; however, prior to her college diploma, she took up dressmaking and tailoring and also had her fashion design course with Cora Doloroso. Del-z also studied Marketing in Georg Simon Ohm Hochschule in Nurnberg, Germany for a semester.
The Agapito siblings with Obra ni Juan’s new celebrity endorser, Rafael Rossel
Obra ni Juan
“Obra” in Filipino is “masterpiece” and this is the same discipline that they envisioned to go with every design, coupled with Filipino creativity and ingenuity. On the other hand, “Juan” is to personify the authentic Filipino male image – Juan dela Cruz. Thus, “Obra ni Juan” was born.
Obra ni Juan’s Celebrity Endorser, Rafael Rosell
Obra ni Juan Factor
Obra ni Juan Collections are classed into Authentic designs, Executive designs and Formal Wear. Fabrics used are cotton, linen, tencel and cotton mix which are very comfortable and “presko” when worn. Some designs are limited to avoid the mass- market look that other brands have.
Aside from providing the market with good quality clothes at affordable prices, the Obra collections are durable. In fact, we have received feedback that some of our customers have Obra ni Juan products that are more than a decade old already but are still of great quality.
Members of the media got to interview Rafael Rosell after the launch proper. I particularly love the black string trimming around the collar of another Obra ni Juan masterpiece he’s wearing.
It was hard to resist not having my very own homegrown endorser, a.k.a. hubby, pose for me. Jeff here is wearing a Ramie White linen Executive design by Obra ni Juan.
Another Executive design in black, Ramie linen material, by Obra ni Juan
As for me, I cannot wait to see for myself the women counterpart of Obra ni Juan, which they aptly called, “La Obra.” They have recently expanded their clothing collection and is not available in selected Robinsons outlets and SM Kultura.
Obra ni Juan is also looking into export in the future, not only to expand the Filipino craftsmanship, design and uniqueness to the world, but also to express their nationalism and love of country through Obra. Obra ni Juan clothing collection can be found in Crossing Department Store in Quezon Avenue, Landmark Trinoma, Robinsons Department Stores, SM MOA, SM Megamall and Sta. Lucia Department Store.