Basil Malicsi

Born and raised in the Philippines, Jose Basil Malicsi grew up in the small town of Los Banos in the Philippines where he was exposed to nature and the arts at an early age. Growing up in with a large extended family, Basil began successfully entering school-related art competitions.

At 19, he left his country to pursue his life-long dream of becoming a fashion designer. During his first year in California, he won “Best in Evening Wear” at the California Fashion Symposium in Los Angeles, California. This prompted him to start his collection focusing on custom eveningwear dresses while juggling school and internships.

Basil’s designs are always very colorful, vibrant, and flowy. For him, "more is more," and he believes that fashion should definitely make us happy. “I believe that fashion should make us smile and take us to places that we've never been before. I love using light fabrics because I always imagine my woman walking on the beach while the wind and the scenery compliment her while she's walking. The result is very dramatic, like a picture straight from a silent movie. When I was growing up in the Philippines, there was a time that my family lived in front of the beach. That was the happiest time of my life so I always go back to that time, and I always go back to the beach when I am designing clothes.”

Basil Designs for a woman who is sensual. She has her own sense of style, she's bold, she makes an entrance, she knows what she wants and gets it, she is not afraid of color and she's a world traveler who wears a bikini underneath all her light and airy Basil dresses-very seductive, sultry, happy and earthy. He considers Imelda Marcos, Marie Antoinette, and Queen Elizabeth I as his fashion idols that used fashion to influence society, politics, and define their periods.

During his junior year, he interned with LA-based designer, House of Petro Zillia under Nony Tochterman where he helped in dressing celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Kyle Richards of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Fergie of the BlackEyed Peas and many more. In his senior year, Basil interned for designer Trina Turk, a California-based contemporary designer that sells dresses, menswear, swimwear, and home ware at boutiques, Nordstrom's, and Bloomingdales.

After finishing his degree at California State University-Long Beach where he majored in textiles and clothing, he presented his collection at the Emerging Designer category of L.A. Fashion Week. He has been featured on Women’s Wear Daily-WWD, California Apparel News, Vogue Italia, The Asian TV Channel and other publications. He has dressed celebrities such as Judy Shekoni from Twighlight, International Superstar Kerli, and TV host of Style Network’s Jeannie Mai.

today, Basil continues to pursue his passion for fashion by working hard on his name-sake brand.