Models of different ages and experience levels took to the runway at the Montecassino Hotel and Event Centre on Sept. 12 for the Mahistrado Fashion Show, an event organized by Kim Mahistrado to showcase fashion while helping models build confidence and experience.
The show featured three runway categories: casual, vintage, and a grand finale featuring bridal pieces inspired by debutantes, quinceañeras, and beauty queens.
Models also stepped away from the runway to showcase other talents throughout the night, with performances ranging from singing and dancing to painting.
For Mahistrado, however, the event is also an opportunity to teach the next generation of models and beauty queens.
“Ultimately, the whole thing is that I want to make my parents proud and to be a teacher,” Mahistrado said during an interview on stage.
Mahistrado said part of his motivation comes from parents who did not have the same opportunities to pursue modelling or pageantry when they were younger, but can now watch their children take part.
“I know some of the parents here were deprived to be a model or a beauty queen,” he said.
“Each and every one of the parents want to see their daughters or children become beauty queens and kings.”
That emphasis on confidence and mentorship was reflected by models who have spent years working with Mahistrado.
Ralph Abella, the reigning Mr. Glam International Canada 2026-27, said he has been involved with Mahistrado Fashions for about six years.
Mahistrado first encouraged him to try walking the runway, which eventually led to opportunities beyond Canada.
“I’ve been on the runway, but also representing Canada at the international stage,” Abella said.
Saturday’s event marked a return for Abella, who said he had been away from the runway for about a year and a half before returning to modelling two weeks before the show.
“I’m slowly getting back into the arena of runway and the international stage,” he said.
Among the pieces he wore were designs by Louis Pangilinan.
Abella said his favourite was a blue finale outfit representing air and the environment, which he previously wore while competing at Mr. Mesoamerica.
For Abella, working with Filipino designers also carries significance beyond the runway.
“As a proud Filipino Canadian, it’s been an honour to represent Mahistrado and as well as the other designers that are in our Filipino community,” he said.
Modelling helps youth gain confidence
For younger models, getting to the runway required hours of preparation.
Aidan Azzopardi said he first met Mahistrado shortly after beginning modelling and has since participated in several of his runway shows.
Preparing for Saturday required several hours of rehearsals, with Azzopardi estimating models practised for eight or nine hours.
“The finale was the hardest, by far, to learn,” Azzopardi said, adding that having to catch up is one of the more challenging parts of modelling.
Azzopardi said the experience has helped him find a community and achieve things he did not expect.
“I’ve made so many new friends and completed so many achievements and experiences that I didn’t think I could ever accomplish,” he said.
His favourite look of the night was a barong, which he said stood out “because it represents Filipino culture.”
That sense of belonging was also shared by Ryeanna Ponce de Leon, who said modelling has encouraged her to become more confident and step outside her comfort zone.
Ponce de Leon said the variety of clothing was part of what she enjoyed about the show.
“I like the outfits because they’re unique and different from each other,” she said.
After rehearsing ahead of the event, Ponce de Leon said walking the runway was a highlight of the night.
“It felt amazing, and it felt like I was the star of the show,” she said.
But it was the relationships between the models that stood out most to her.
“Being part of this fashion show is like being in a family full of models, and we treat each other with respect and kindness,” Ponce de Leon said.
Luis Miguel De Castro is a Changing Narratives Fund-Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Mabuhay Canada and a journalism graduate at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto. Originally from the Philippines, he is passionate about community storytelling, multimedia journalism, and amplifying Filipino voices through meaningful local coverage.