FASHION | MANIFEST Magazine

It is the number 22 again for R’bonney! In the year ’22 or 2022, Filipino-American beauty queen and fashion designer, R’bonney Nola Gabriel, won the Miss Universe title. Now, 22 will become another turning point in her life as she joins the upcoming Season 22 of “Project Runway,” a popular American reality show and competition for aspiring and professional fashion designers. The season is soon to premiere on July 9, 2026 on Freeform, Hulu, and Disney+.

Background in Fashion, Education, and Fashion Label

R’bonney took up her degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, with a Minor in Fibers, from the University of North Texas and graduated in 2018. In December of that same year, she started her sustainable clothing label, called R’bonney Nola (www.rbonneynola.com), where she designs through recycling fabrics, repurposing old clothes, and using natural fibers.

The above image is a collage of photos from the Instagram of R’bonney Nola Gabriel when she was studying at the University of North Texas for her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, Minor in Fibers.

Filpino and American Heritage

One of her collections were tops — made using fabrics from recycled plastics — embroidered with the statement “If not now, then when?” This collection was in honor of the man who taught her this life motto of going after her dreams — her father Remigio Bonzon “R. Bon” Gabriel, a Filipino from Malate, Manila who had immigrated to the USA at age 19 under college scholarship and only $ 20 of money. R’bonney’s mother is Dana Walker, who is an American from from Beaumont, Texas.

Sewing Instructor for Survivors

In 2020, at the non-profit organization Magpies and Peacocks, R’bonney started teaching sewing to survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence. The organization advocates for sustainability in fashion, arts, and culture, while supporting underserved communities and young professionals.

Pageantry Journey

In the same year, she also entered the world of pageantry, and her journey was a long one of trying and trying again. She first joined Miss Kemah USA 2020, where she placed as part of the Top 5. In the next year, she joined Miss Texas USA 2021 and took home the First Runner Up, which was only one step closer to the crown. She joined again a year later and finally won Miss Texas USA 2022. This title allowed her to join Miss USA 2022, which is USA’s pageant contest for picking the USA representative for the Miss Universe 2022 competition.

R’bonney made history in 2022 as she became the first Filipino-American to win Miss USA, and later on bagged the Miss Universe 2022 crown, where she advocated for sustainable and eco-friendly fashion.

The Beauty Queen Who Designed Many of Her Own Outfits

During the Miss Universe competition, R’bonney demonstrated her advocacy on using “Fashion as a Force for Good” not only through her background of being a Sewing Instructor and having a sustainable clothing label, but also through designing and actually handmaking many of the outfits she wore for the events and activities of Miss Universe, including a Modern Filipiniana to proudly show her Filipino roots to the universe.

Sustainable Fashion and Content Creator

After winning Miss Universe, R’bonney continued to apply eco-consciousness in fashion designing, such as sourcing some materials from thrift shops or ukay-ukay for her first fashion show, releasing a collection of recycled and reconstructed blazers that all sold out, and posting her creative journey on her social media where she shows the transformations of her clothes after buying second-hand, adjusting, and redesigning them for her to model and wear to events.

R’bonney Joins “Project Runway” Season 22

As she joins Project Runway, R’bonney took to Instagram to announce it: “HELLO @projectrunway SEASON 22!! From 16 years of sewing, and sooo many hours of watching Project Runway, I thought it was time to enter the workroom. Design has been my passion since I was young, and it’s a dream come true to join this season.”

Aside from R’bonney, other notable contestants in this season are drag queens Andrew Vladimir Dunayevskiy and Robert Serverson, and costume designer for films Bao Tranchi.

As we move closer to the premiere, R’bonney’s fans await to see her creations on Project Runway. Will she continue to apply sustainability and eco-friendliness even under the constraints and challenges of the competition? And will 22 be a sign — Season 22 with a total of 22 contestants, including our Miss Universe ’22 R’bonney Nola Gabriel.