Moms and Dads
Today’s Faces of Parenting: Rosanna Ocampo-Rodriguez
Fashion designer Rosanna Ocampo-Rodriguez has been in the fashion industry for a long time. But becoming a mom has helped her to relax and have time for the family.
This story about Rosanna Ocampo-Rodriguez first came out in Modern Parenting’s 2022 print edition.
The fashion industry is notorious for its fast-paced, sometimes cutthroat nature. But every now and then, out emerges a figure who manages to float above the stress and provide a fresh new perspective on what it takes to be in this scene.
One such individual is Rosanna Ocampo-Rodriguez, whose passion for design started at an early age, thanks to her mother. “I’ve always wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as I can remember,” she says. “I was never into Barbie dolls, but I was always into playing dress up in my mother’s closet. And her generation was a generation that would go to modistas. She would take me along with her everywhere she went. From the process of fabric buying in Kamuning to going to the modista to explain her style.”
Because of this experience, Rosanna continued to imbibe this love for the craft throughout her life. Especially evident during her proms in high school. Instead of going to designers for her dresses as her peers did, she would instead source the fabric and make the design for their local village modista to put together.
Nowadays, when it comes to her designs, Rosanna takes much of her inspiration from her current travels, music, and interior design. “I think certain songs or albums awaken my senses,” she shares. “If you’re also familiar with my work, you’ll also know I’m fond of color — I barely do anything plain. For me, more is more, and I just like to do texture upon texture, and I’m bold with my choices. I’m comfortable with mixing things up.”
But how has being a mother changed her work in fashion? For one, Rosanna no longer wears the miniskirts
and party clothes she often did when she was younger. Another was that she had to change up her schedule to accommodate her life as a mom. But that doesn’t mean giving up the good stuff. While Rosanna finds herself in bed by 10 pm, she manages to sneak in some alone time and reading in the morning. Her personal experiences have inadvertently influenced her work, as a good portion of her brand focuses on the “ladies who lunch or go out to dinner.”
“My hemlines have definitely gotten a lot longer,” Rosanna shares. “Mothers like me with many changing roles — that’s what a lot of my clients are — will hopefully have these clothes translate to every one of them.”
Moreover, a lot of her schedule considerations revolve around her children, who are her priority. Conversely, it is because of this priority that she works at less crazy hours so she could give her kids her undivided attention.
“I like to be done with work by 5 pm exactly so that I am fully present for my kids [when they’re] back home,” Rosanna shares. “I only have two kids, and I really want to make sure that they’re my priority, always.”
