High Fashion at A Young Age By: Bea Pelayo

When you are twenty, the biggest fashion conundrums you have are if your outfit matches the event that you are going to, if it is comfortable, or even if it reveals too much about yourself. However, there is a group of impressionable young ladies and men who are serving up high fashion with a nod to Filipino tradition. Fashion design graduates from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde have showcased their works in their annual graduation show Sinulid. However, a large number of works in that show highlighted the traditional Filipino Look and twisted it in some way. They have been mixing Filipino Culture and Tradition and reinventing it into their designs. They are integrating the style, material, and concept that they are using and revolutionizing the “Filipino Look.” 

The “Filipino Look” is a typical Terno or Filipiniana wherein it looks very Spanish and very formal. But today’s aspiring designers have both fresh and unconventional ways of looking that this “Filipino Look.” In terms of high fashion, the “Filipino Look” has been reinvented in the wildest of ways. Some looks deconstruct what traditional look is and use the most unusual materials. Aspiring Filipino Designers have taken this notion of what the traditional “Filipino Look” is on a whole other level. Certain designers have shown Ternos in the most unconventional ways. They used woven abaca for the sleeves and used colors that remind you of farmers. One designer, Lya Licaros, used a romantic type of aesthetic to portray the traditional Filipino woman: Maria Clara but still combined that modern look by combining it with a bodysuit. They make the simple look of traditional clothing so elevated and different that you really see the diversity of the traditional Filipino clothing. These young aspiring designers have been revolutionizing the fashion industry in the Philippines and putting culture in the center.

Looking into the motivation of these aspiring creators on why they chose to show a cultural angle in their final pieces they wanted to show a different side of our culture. They were inspired by the rich culture that we have in this country from the materials that we use to the stories and heroes that we have. It is clear to them that the Philippines is a rich source of fashion inspiration that cannot be underestimated. 

There is more to fashion than just pretty clothes—these fresh blood are proving that fashion encompasses all walks of life, that there are many untapped sectors of fashion, and that there is more than one way of creating clothes.