Michael Cinco (; born August 8, 1971) is a Filipino

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

based in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. He launched his eponymous fashion line in 2003.

Early life and education

Cinco was born on August 27, 1971, in the island of

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

in central

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. His provincial upbringing made him fantasize the glamour of dressing up

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

and

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

, later saying "I pictured those fabulous heroines and imagined dressing them up in my creations. I chased after those visions..." Cinco studied

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

at the prestigious

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

for two years eventually transferring at Slims Fashion and Arts School in Manila. He then took up supplementary courses at

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

In 1997, Cinco moved to

, eventually establishing his fashion line in 2003. "Moving to the Middle East was a big leap for me, the region is a haven of couture," he recalls. In his first job in Dubai, he reinvented the image of a slightly staid fashion house, and succeeded in injecting new fashion nuances. Now, it’s great to know that the elite fashionistas of Dubai eventually recognized Michael Cinco's passion for fashion and design. In 2002, Cinco went to Paris and then London where he trained at

College of Arts and Design. The next year, he returned to Dubai and established his

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

label, Michael Cinco. The designer regularly finds inspiration in architectural features. For his 2017 Couture collection, he dedicated his Fall/Winter 2017 couture collection to the Palace of Versailles, referencing its baroque panelling and intricately painted ceilings. Cinco is a member of the

Miss Universe 2024 Miss Universe 2024 was the 73rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on 16 November 2024. Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua crowned Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark as her successor at the conclusion of the e ...

Selection committee.

Notable clients

Cinco's clients include international celebrities like Beyonce,

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

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, Dita Von Teese,

Brandy Norwood Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist ...

, Ashanti,

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

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and

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, among others. Aishwarya Rai Cannes 2017 3

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is a frequent wearer of Michael Cinco gowns, from her stage performances to red carpet appearances.

Sofia Vergara Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the ...

wore a black Michael Cinco gown at the 2013 Golden Globes. The same year

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. After signing with Epic Records in 2008, Faith released her debut album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009), which produced the UK ...

wore a Cinco dress while attending the

Met Gala The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala was and still is popularly rega ...

in New York. Cinco dressed fellow Filipino and

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at the 2016 Miss Universe pageant held in Manila on January 30, 2017. He also designed

Iris Mittenaere Iris Mittenaere ( ; ; born 25 January 1993) is a French television personality, model and beauty pageant titleholder best known for winning the title of Miss Universe 2016. The second Miss Universe from France after Christiane Martel, Mittenae ...

's farewell gown for the

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on 26 November 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa as Miss Unive ...

pageant held in Las Vegas later that same year. At the

2017 Cannes Film Festival The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the main competition. Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing cerem ...

in France,

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superstar

wore a blue gown designed by Cinco. The gown had gone viral among netizens, mainly Indian netizens, who named it 'Cinderella gown'. Cinco designed the wedding gown of Austrian singer and

Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Tyrol. It was founded in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, which primarily produces crystal glas ...

empire heiress Victoria Swarovski when she wed Werner Murz in June 2017 in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The gown valued at over and weighing 46 kilograms has an eight meter long train adorned by 500,000 of Swarovski's family-owned crystals. The bride also wore another Cinco creation, in red, at the wedding party. Bollywood superstar

reprised her stellar black tie wardrobe with another couture gown by the designer at

2018 Cannes Film Festival The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett served as jury president for the main competition. Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, fo ...

. On 19 June 2018,

Miss World 2017 Miss World 2017 was the 67th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Sanya City Arena in Sanya, China, on 18 November 2017. Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico crowned Manushi Chhillar of India as her successor at the end of the event. ...

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wore a silver gown by the designer for the finale of

Femina Miss India 2018 Miss India, also known as Femina Miss India, is a national beauty pageant in India that selects representatives to compete in the Miss World competition, one of the Big Four international beauty pageants. It is organized by '' Femina'', a wome ...

, where she crowned her national successor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinco, Michael 1971 births Living people Filipino fashion designers People from Catbalogan University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Alumni of Central Saint Martins