Akimbo brings Streetwear Luxury brand Rhude to the Philippines

Rhuigi was just coming to terms with his newfound identity as a teenage Filipino immigrant in America before finding solace in art, fashion and culture, which then turns into Rhude — a streetwear luxury brand taking influences from Americana, pop, and various design cultures that inspires Rhuigi Villasenor. The 27-year-old artist, designer, and entrepreneur, who now calls LA his homebase, was born and raised in the Philippines until his family moved to California when he was age of 11.

His father dreamed of Rhuigi becoming a doctor, but fate had a completely different plan. Drawn more towards art and fashion, Rhuigi taught himself the curves and corners of pop culture, art and design and soon started creating one-off pieces that would eventually be worn by music icons and celebrities. His first hit design was a $200 cotton t-shirt printed with a black and white paisley bandana pattern that caught the attention of the hip hop community. In 2018 Kendrick Lamar wore a pair of Traxedo track pants from Rhuigi’s line when the rapper accepted his Pulitzer Prize.

Ian Connor, Odell Beckham Jr., Bella Hadid and The Weeknd

At 16 years old he was already accepting several styling gigs for Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and the like. These experiences would then be significant to guiding his own pursuit as a brand owner of Rhude. After graduating from high school, he interned under menswear designer Shaun Samson who was then Kim Jones’ understudy. His current philosophy of designing to express his own feelings more than following trends came from his internship with Samson.

At the age of 27, Rhuigi’s accomplishments stack up high — Off-White founder Virgil Abloh described him as being the future of fashion. He was even recently included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. With Rhuigi’s numerous acclaim, his brand, Rhude is also reaping remarkable following — Rhude’s clientele includes The Weeknd, Bella Hadid, Lebron James, Lewis Hamilton and Adam Levine. In the recently held Paris Fashion Week, the brand had its SS20 runway presentation featuring pieces from his newest collection called “Seven Falls”.