MANILA, Philippines – Jo Ann Bitagcol was 18 years old when she was discovered as a model in a panciteria in Malolos. It was Good Friday, and the panciteria was the only spot open. She was with a friend discussing her future. Could she work in Pizza Hut, like her friend?
It so happened that the panciteria was also the same place where a fashion designer and two other fashion industry stalwarts were eating. Do you think she could be a model? She looks like she has long legs. They watched her and approached her. From there, she joined Body Shots Model Search Philippines.
Bitagcol didn’t win Body Shots but continued modeling.
She had previously worked as a factory worker in a cotton mill, where she was assigned to large machines segregating good cotton from bad cotton. The mill created yarn for export and she worked there for a year and a half before her big break modeling in Fashion Watch, a fashion event held at the Manila Hotel in 1996. Fashion Watch was organized by designer Inno Sotto and his partner Richard Tann, with several other designers joining.
It was her God-given beauty — and the long legs that the aforementioned stalwarts noticed — that created an initial opportunity for her. But it would be her thirst for creating, for learning and doing something new in the field, and a mindset to not limit oneself that would be her ticket to a long, inspiring, and multifaceted career in the industry.
After her big break, Bitagcol became a fashion favorite and a muse of designers, working prolifically as a model, later discovering a passion for photography in the early 2000s. “I was inspired by my modeling trips abroad, where I would meet models who were also photographers and doing other things.”
She says she was “welcomed” into the photography industry and felt “so supported’ by other photographers. “It was all just very free-flowing and congruent. Everything that has ever happened to me happened so easily and with so much help from others. I’m so grateful.”
A few years later, “I was bored again. Here’s the thing. I noticed that every eight years of my career, first as a model and then as a photographer, something comes up that I want to transition again. I want to expand, or I want to learn something new again. There’s this hunger to do something else.”
Designing came next, later bringing forth her own brand, bitagcol, which — as she would describe herself later on — stands by honoring culture, heritage, and ancestry.
For bitagcol, the brand, there was some “downtime” in which she eventually realized she wanted to print portraits on bags, and not scarves, the earlier idea.
“My first print for bitagcol [the brand] came out in 2019. I chose to print an outfit from a book project I did with Gino Gonzales and Mark Higgins, Fashionable Filipinas: An Evolution of the Philippine National Dress in Photographs 1860-1960. The very first collection was part of that book project. And the response was ‘Wow!’ and was so unexpected.”
Her scarves sold out, and her customers asked for her prints to be made into clothing.
“I’m sensitive to what is needed and what my clients want. ‘Okay, let’s do that,’ I say. And then I think the universe wants me expand. These people are the angels telling me this is how you expand. I’m just guided along the way. That’s how I translate it and see my path and journey from modeling to photography to now.”
Bitagcol is now 46 years old and has been active in the fashion industry for almost 30 years. Her prints on clothing and home accessories, she says, is a way for her to pass on culture and heritage to the next generation.
Rappler sat down with Bitagcol the day after her pop-up launch. Called Re:start, ongoing until January, the pop-up on the second floor of Rockwell Mall offers an array of clothing, including new dress styles. It also has a home collection with wooden serving trays featuring terno and baro prints. Pastillas prints in oversized coasters and a collection of placemats made in tandem with the S.C. Vizcarra, a heritage brand founded in 1925, making hand-woven bags and home accessories.
Rappler: How do you choose the subject matter for your clothing and homeware prints?
Jo Ann Bitagcol: Being a Filipino, you look back because all these prints are vintage photographs, Maria Clara and Barong Tagalog and all that. Then you learn from it and treasure what was in the past. And then you create something out of it that is usable now. Then, you move forward and share the information with the next generation. You pass it on. In my case, I do it through photos. I share information through photographs because we have museums. Fashion or home accessories are my way of contributing to being Filipino.
How do you find inspiration?
JAB: It could be a painting. I love the portraits that Malang makes. They’re so contemporary. They’re fun. I like the colors. I’m not a painter. How did I translate the vintage accessories of Gino [Gonzales for the book Fashionable Filipinas]? I married it. I took photographs of them.
Also, I visit heritage houses. For instance, Rita [Nazareno], her grandma made embroideries before. But what caught my attention were the vintage blueprints of their designs. So, I focused on that for the placemats in the pop-up. And then I always, every time I shoot and have a project, I ask for guidance. Angels, guardian angels, creative angels, whatever. “Which one do you want me to do? What part of the story do you want me to narrate here?” And then, instinct, your gut feeling, will tell you.
I always ask for permission when I see pieces because I know they are pre-owned. Because you know, for some reason, sometimes you take photos — one time this happened — and the next day, they disappeared from my camera. I was out in the woods and didn’t ask permission. So, based on that experience, I always ask permission to shoot.
When you say “angels” and “things falling into place,” it sounds like your path was natural and spiritual.
JAB: I just allow things to flow. For example, this is a piece of garment. Okay. It’s shapeless and all. You wear it and then allow it to flow accordingly. It’s the same with my career. Looking back, everything just flowed. I ask for guidance always. I always pray.
Has this helped you achieve success?
JAB: Yes. I’m not religious, but I’ve always believed there’s another, higher power. Of course, being Catholic, it’s Jesus Christ, Christianity, things like that. But I always respect other belief systems, practices, or mediums. With everything that’s happening to me, I’m just a medium. I’m just being guided. I’m here for a purpose. Since I’m here, I’m allowing You to use me for whatever it is that You want me to do for this world.
Which is?
JAB: I can talk about my talents: photography and design. And then I’m into promoting heritage and roots and ancestry. That’s my brand. bitagcol is about honoring the roots, ancestors, heritage and culture, and doing it with good intentions and love. So always my mindset. That’s how I formulate my brand. So that’s what I stand for. It will expand somewhere else.
Do not limit yourself. Everyone, you know, just tap into that. You’re limitless. When I started the internal work, I better understood why it was. Why are all of these happening? Everyone has that. You just have to really tap into that self, that higher self.
How do you do it?
JAB: You meditate a lot. It’s a process. It took me years to understand because we had all been embedded with this belief system. So you just have to reprogram and rewire everything in yourself. And then it’s trusting the unknown.
Affirmations work for me. They help me a lot. By narrating or saying those statements, you are already programming yourself: your intuition, mindset, and whole being.
If you align to yourself, align everything internally, if you fix everything internally, the external will follow whether you like it. I’m just really a vessel. So I allow the universe, claim to myself when I’m like, okay, I think this is my life now, nonstop na ‘yong opportunities. (Opportunities are nonstop.)
It’s about embanking to the other world, the spirit world. We are all spirits living in human form now. But we’re all going to come back. That’s just my personal belief. There’s another stage after this. So, I want to put my life to good use in this lifetime. I feel like I’ve had several lifetimes. So now I want to complete it and do it well, do it right already.
I was once asked, “With all this transition and sharing with other people, which part do you want to share? Photography? Modeling?” It’s the part about doing the internal work because it did me wonders. Anxiety and worrying about the future — I think that’s the human sickness. I was able to free myself from that.
Especially during the pandemic and when my brother passed, there were a lot of challenges.
So sorry to hear that.
JAB: He’s happy now.
Everything is imperfect for me, not permanent. So I want a permanent solution: when you are okay inside, you’re not affected by the external world. Those things don’t matter. You’re at peace already. And then you have this goal. That goal is a call for me to put my life to good use and be happy. You know, create your heaven and earth.
Please explain to me, from a factory worker, how is this all possible? But it is possible. Of course, with everyone’s support, not just me, I let go of the ego and said, “Hey, I need help. I need help.” It’s okay to say that you need help. It’s okay to be not strong. It’s okay. Then you will attract people who have the same reason. Life is beautiful.
When did you start? When did this inner change or work start?
JAB: During the pandemic. I was really at the bottom. I needed to do something else. Money was low, and my brother passed. And then everyone was emotionally down. “I need some support here,” I realized. “Because when I collapse, everyone will collapse. And I will not allow that to happen.” I needed help, and God gave me that in the form of a support group. That was a big deal. I am not alone. I’m happy to be supported. To be not to be judged boils down to love.
Not everyone is ready to comprehend, or, I’m sorry. I’m not judging everyone. I just want to see everyone to be out of that mindset. I want them to free themselves, to liberate themselves. That’s my wish for everyone. – Rappler.com
