Pia Wurtzbach reflects on her Fashion Week journey: No competition, no battle plan
Pia Wurtzbach. Image: Instagram/@piawurtzbach
Despite having made a name for herself in fashion circles, Pia Wurtzbach is not one to rest on her laurels, but she is quick to say that she is not out to compete with anyone.
In an interview with Preview magazine, the 2015 Miss Universe titleholder said it is more apt to say that she is in competition with herself, and that her evolving career as a style influencer does not include a “battle plan.”
“I didn’t want this to be a competition. No, I didn’t want it to be… Like, come on, I just came from a competition a couple of years ago. I don’t want to be in another one,” she said in the cover story.
Wurtzbach said her mindset whenever she takes on a fashion-related pursuit has always been that she is new in the industry, and that not everyone recognizes her as a beauty queen.
“[I was going to] have to introduce myself as who I was [at that moment]. Who am I outside of pageants? What am I doing here? How do I want to position myself? How do I want them to remember me?” she said.
During the interview, Wurtzbach also shared that she decided to take her husband’s surname, Jauncey, noting that it was meant to strengthen the foundation of their future family.
“One day when we have kids, I would want them to see that we share the same last name as their dad. It’s a bit of a traditional move for Jeremy, but it doesn’t really bother me,” she said.
Wurtzbach emerged as a fashion maven with a gleaming media mileage since 2023, and has been appearing on multiple lists of influencers to look out for after her stints in Paris and Milan.
In the early years of her Fashion Week journey, Wurtzbach’s name would be entangled with that of Heart Evangelista, who had already made a name for herself in the industry ahead of the beauty queen. The two famously had a muted conflict owing to their supposed rivalry at various Fashion Week events, allegedly precipitated by the transfer of Evangelista’s glam team to Wurtzbach after their supposed “betrayal” of the former’s friendship and trust.
Evangelista clarified in October 2024 that she “never had a problem” with Wurtzbach.
“Woman to woman, I never had a problem with Pia [Wurtzbach]. I was one of those who cheered for her in the past. And I’d like to think that it was the same for her. She was so sweet enough to post the hashtag ‘Heart made do it.’ And at the time, I was so touched,” she said. “But it’s the people she chose to surround herself with for specific reasons that make this whole thing problematic.”
Wurtzbach, on the other hand, remained silent on Evangelista’s remarks since then. /edv
