Timeline: Puey Quiñones Fashion Fiasco

The name of fashion designer Puey Quiñones was trending in twitter a couple of days ago, and sadly, it wasn’t in a good or flattering way.

The story involves soon-to-weds, Jhon Maala and Shea Gamboa who got Puey’s services for a custom-made suit for the groom.  Jhon reportedly tried several times to meet the designer during his fittings but the designer was a no-show.   When the suit was finally delivered, the couple discovered it wasn’t exactly what they ordered.  What’s worse, the “custom-made” suit has another brand’s care label tucked in its inside pocket.

Below is how the story snowballed in the social media.

Feb 14, 2011

•  the bride Shea Gamboa posted: “Makukulong ka sa ginagawa mo… Ibalik mo pera namin! Isa kang mangugulang!”

Feb. 15, 2011

• Katherine de Castro (host of ABS-CBN/Bayan Prod.’s “Trip na Trip”) tweeted this w/ link to above pic: “The designer asked 30k for this suit. Pero bakit may Dansen tag? Sa SM ito di ba? Napeke kaya yung friend ko?”

• Michael Lim (wedding/event host) posted an album on his FB account with the title “Fashion Advocacy” which included the side-by-side picture of the suit in question and an original ready-to-wear Dansen suit.  The news spread like wildfire among fashion and wedding industry insiders.

Feb. 16, 2011

• Concerned about the implication of the story to their brand, BOBON issued this official statement via their FB page:

In response to the Facebook post “Fashion Scam” showing a photo of a suit with a label “Bobon by Puey Quinones” alongside the label of another local clothing company, as well as related Twitter messages, we wish to clarify that BOBON is not in any way involved in the design, production or sale of the suit in the photo, or the affixing of the “BOBON by Puey Quinones” label to the suit.

BOBON, owned and operated by Urban Lifestyles, Inc., started as a collaboration with a single designer in 2008 and has since grown into a collective effort involving several Filipino designers. BOBON is not affiliated with any one designer. Although the label “Bobon by Puey Quinones” was initially used in 2008, this label was discontinued more than a year ago. Since 2010, all BOBON pieces simply bear the label “BOBON”.

We have no knowledge of how the label “Bobon by Puey Quinones” ended up in the suit in the Facebook post as we have used every effort to reclaim and destroy these old labels. We are certain that this suit was not purchased by the owner from or through BOBON. All BOBON pieces are sold exclusively at or through the BOBON store at The Podium and we have no record of this transaction.

We wish to assure our loyal clients and friends that all BOBON pieces are original custom designs by our designer partners. We are committed to maintaining high quality and originality in our creations and remain steadfast in our support of Filipino designers.
To our clients, partners and friends, we thank you for your continued support and belief in us.

BOBON Management
Urban Lifestyles, Inc.

Feb. 17, 2011

• with the growing comments in Mike Lim’s post including reports of similar cases, he decided to document these unscrupulous practices in a blog he called “Pinoy Fashion Pulis” (www.pinoyfashionpulis.com)

Feb. 18, 2011

• Puey issued a public apology via Spot.ph (“The Dansen Debacle”) and the Inquirer (“Quiñones apologizes for retagging“). Here’s the full text:

Regarding the recent “fashion scam”, I regret that all this happened. First and foremost, I would like to apologize to the couple for all the trouble that it has caused them.

I was simply pressured to create a suit and found a perfect blank canvas to develop.  I know the entire situation could have been handled better but now it has just been blown out of proportion and affected so many others.
I assure all concerned that I am doing the best that I can to fix this situation.  I have been in contact with the party involved and intend to settle this peacefully.

To the couple who brought attention to this matter and to everyone else that have raised concerns over the quality of my service as a designer... I am sorry.

I am doing all that I can to make sure that this does not happen again.
Thank you for your understanding and for your concern.

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We hope that the expose would put an end to such shameful and unethical practices.