For many, home isn’t just four walls and a roof, it’s a personal canvas. The furniture layout, chosen textures, and how light moves through space all reflect identity. Increasingly, home design is seen as an extension of the self. For women in design, this link between space and story is second nature.

This year’s Rustan’s Designers’ Circle 2025 leans into that idea: Designing with personality and purpose. In partnership with the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID), Rustan’s invited four Filipina designers to create distinct vignettes, each one showing how design can express individuality, heritage, and contemporary living. They bring to life 2025’s key trends—sustainability, multifunctionality, and earthy tones—using pieces from Rustan’s home collections.

Among them are IDr. Cynthia Almario, creative director and co-founder of Atelier Almario; IDr. Cyndi Fernandez-Beltran, creative director of Moss Manila and PIID’s vice president; IDr. Cecil P. Ravelas, principal of Red Interior Design; and IDr. Ann Dee-Santiago, principal interior designer of Anndee Design Studio.

IDr. Fernandez-Beltran expressed her enthusiasm for the partnership, highlighting its value to the industry. “We're excited and very grateful for this partnership. This collaboration reflects our commitment and our recognition of licensed designers in the country,” she said. “At PIID, along with its board of trustees, we've made it a priority to make the membership more meaningful and rewarding. This partnership is really one of the ways we turn our promise into action, by connecting with brands and retail institutions like Rustan's."

IDr. Almario brought home a refined sensibility shaped by 15 years in Los Angeles designing high-end residences, restaurants, and hotels. With her sister Ivy, she established a Manila-based studio known for its elegant, high-impact interiors.

At Rustan’s, Almario reimagines a living room using sculptural pieces from Poliform and Flexform, layered with vibrant accents from Jonathan Adler. “My idea is to create an enchanting environment that invites exploration, blending various sumptuous materials that harmonize to provide a unique sensory experience,” she shares. The space is both playful and polished, inviting guests to pause, explore, and feel at home.

At Moss Manila, IDr. Fernandez-Beltran has built a reputation for designing standout retail spaces and events for brands like Netflix, Tom Ford, and Uniqlo. For her vignette, she takes a more personal approach.

“In the rush of daily life, we often forget to feel. That’s why our homes must become sanctuaries—spaces that breathe, hold beauty, and speak to the soul,” she says. “Each piece of furniture, every artwork, every cherished object is more than décor—it is nourishment."

With over 30 years in hospitality and residential design, Ravelas balances strategic execution with thoughtful aesthetics. Her work includes the Manuel Roxas Room at the Laperal Mansion and Centro Turismo in Intramuro, projects that, like her vignette, combine balance with cultural depth.

Her space is an open, lanai-style lounge with fresh greenery, wooden furniture, and a relaxed dining setup. It’s not about perfection, but presence, a place for connection and memory-making.

After earning a business degree from Ateneo de Manila University, Dee-Santiago pursued her passion for design. She graduated valedictorian from PSID, ranked fifth in the board exam, and now leads a practice focused on problem-solving and relationship-building, not just aesthetics.

This partnership with PIID turns each vignette into more than a showcase, it becomes a reflection of how we live and feel at home. Blending global design with Filipino sensibilities, Rustan’s Designers’ Circle 2025 affirms that great design isn’t just about how a space looks, it’s about how it feels.