For Carl Jan “CJ” Cruz, contemporary Filipino has never been an idea to chase, but a truth lived since the brand’s first stitch a decade ago. In Volume II for UNIVERS, that aptitude sharpens. Refined, rooted, and anchored always on the clothes themselves.
Last September 4, Patikim (the first taste) unfolded in an intimate press preview at UNIVERS One Rockwell. The line carries the spirit of CJ’s atelier at 45 Bayani into the public eye, translating the quiet intimacy of the workshop space into a shared encounter.
The UNIVERS x Carl Jan Cruz partnership is less about collaboration and more about continuity. Since their first outing in 2022, the dialogue has never ceased; the seed of Volume II was planted a year ago, blooming naturally from a mutual vision of what still lay ahead.
CJ Cruz (left) and Jappy Gonzalez, the man and vision behind UNIVERS
This new chapter feels both familiar and different, says CJ. It rests on firm foundations, carrying forward the codes of CJC while opening space for new gestures through the brand’s core fabrics—pique jerseys, denim, poplin, silks—each reimagined, each architectured with possibility.
Gratitude weaves through this partnership, one that evolves with grace and openness. Volume II is a natural progression: a moment that honors what has been, while tacitly preparing for what is yet to come both locally and globally.
Our Q/A with CJ:
What made you decide to revisit this collaboration after your first outing in 2022?
The brand, has become a continuous body of work and our partnership (rather than collaboration) was a pivotal point when it came to us realizing the brand’s codes and designs into a broader perspective of the growing community of CJC.
How does Volume II carry forward the story you started then, and what feels different this time?
It’s a natural progression. The foundations are strong and building over it felt like there is more room to realize and discover.
UNIVERS and Carl Jan Cruz each has strong identities in Philippine Fashion—how did you find the balance between your distinct voices while building a shared narrative?
We lean on the vectors that we believe and that is discernment on what fashion is about, the clothes.
Were there new materials, techniques, or silhouettes you explored that mark an evolution from the first collaboration?
Yes, from the core fabrications of CJC with UNIVERS. Pushing new developments for the pique jerseys to denims and there’s explorations with new poplins and silks.
Since your 2022 collaboration, how do you feel UNIVERS and Carl Jan Cruz have grown—both individually and in how you work together?
I think there is not much thinking as it is a given part of ourselves, and it’s just about refining and continuing forward with it. I think there’s always more room to grow. Internally and externally and I am grateful for what we’ve created now.
