Manila FAME to Showcase Best of Philippine Fashion via Manila Wear

Doing what it has already achieved for the country’s furniture, home decor, and gifts sector, the 59th edition of Manila FAME on March 14 to 17 will put the special spotlight on fashion and its emerging and established talents. Manila FAME is the country’s premiere design and lifestyle event held every March and October.

In past Manila FAME events at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, the big exhibitors that progressively keep visitors impressed during each show are the furniture manufacturers. A visual feast, special settings are a design marvel by themselves. Interactive areas, such as those featuring communities demonstrating their traditional crafts, add informative and interesting breadth to the event. The fashion area, however, is almost sidelined as it gets lesser space and is more toned down in its presentation.

This season, however, organizers behind the event promise to offer international buyers something more exciting both in the presentation of the exhibitors as well as the clothes and accessories designs of the participants.

To ensure the Philippine Fashion exhibit truly gets noticed, the Center for International Trade and Expositions (CITEM) and the Garments and Textile Industry Development Office (GTIDO) has tapped seasoned and rising fashion designers to present their best tropical resort collection. CITEM, which mounts the Manila FAME events, is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry.

No less than internationally known fashion designer Josie Natori is spearheading the project in collaboration with Manila FAME Creative Director Budji Layug in the interpretation of the “Urban Resort” design concept. Expect a merging of artisanal craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics in the executing of the tropical resort collections.

It’s a daunting task that Layug, who has received distinction for his sleek furniture designs and advocacy of utilizing indigenous materials like bamboo, willingly accepted. He sees Manila Wear in March as just the beginning of a more long-term process.

In a press gathering organized by CITEM on Tuesday, February 25, Layug said, “The challenge really is how to present Philippine design—in home and fashion—to the world. And perhaps, after the March show, we will have to step back and review where we are with the program to be able to move forward and do a collection in October. The challenge is how to unify the young talents and the craftsmen, and how the fresh ideas can mature into a whole new collection.”

Among these designers are Amina Aranaz-Alunan, Carissa Cruz-Evangelista, Maco Custodio, Lally Dizon, Natalya Lagdameo, Adante Leyesa, Joyce Makitalo, Arnel Papa, Malou Romero, Ken Samudio, and Nicole Whisenhunt.

Other designers are Jun Artajo, Tipay Caintic, Joel Escober, Twinkle Ferraren, Anne Marie Saguil, and Lulu Tan-Gan will display their intricately handcrafted apparels with their own take on Manila Wear.

Rosvi Gaetos, CITEM Executive Director revealed that Natori has been mentoring the young talents, collaborating with CITEM and teaching them the basics of expanding their business and exporting abroad.

Filip+Inna’s Len Cabili, known for her masterful use of indigenous materials in modernist designs, will present her new collection. Tipay Caintic, on the other hand, recently got the attention of international media when she presented her Yolanda-themed collection during London Fashion Week. 

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