On Trend By: Alia Cabatuando

As Filipinos, we have lost our sense of cultural appreciation, we tend to patronize western products and other international products. Why? Because we follow what is trending, we follow what is “hype”, and we have patterned our sense of identity to numerous cultures that isn’t ours. Filipinos tend to lean on what everyone is doing and when it comes to fashion, there’s not much difference. We prefer to purchase our clothes in shops like Zara, H&M, Adidas, Nike, and many more western brands because this is what we are accustomed to. We tend to neglect and forget what is truly ours. Fortunately, with the help of social media, slowly but surely, the Filipino youth are starting to see the value and appreciate local products. Recently, local products are becoming a trend, millenials and the gen-z started a trend called “#SupportLocal” wherein various local businesses are getting exposure for their art and products. The integration of traditional Filipino culture to modern fashion started a long time ago, however, it only started trending recently. Local business owners saw that there is a gap that needs to be filled, even though the fashion industry is a tough market, they saw that there was something missing and that is our very own fashion style. Shoes, bags, accessories, and clothes are now being made using materials that can be found in our traditional culture, such as bamboo leaves, abaca fibers, and piña. Furthermore, tribal patterns from different parts of the Philippines are now being made into shirts, jackets, and jeans. We are slowly showcasing our culture by integrating something that is uniquely Filipino. And since we are talking about modern fashion, it is obvious that even though our local products incorporate traditional Filipino culture, the designs that are being put out in the market are designs that can still be appreciated by different nationalities and can also compete internationally. Also, the efforts of these local business owners are not going unnoticed due to the fact that a lot of Filipino youth are starting to support and buy local products. These consumers are starting to get more engaged in the culture that is embedded in our local products, it gives them pride to wear something that is uniquely Filipino and is designed and made by their fellow Filipinos. A problem that they face however, is the accessibility of our local products, in buying clothes, consumers still prefer going inside the store, trying on the clothes to see whether it fits them nicely and scanning through the store for more options. And this is something that our local fashion lacks, most of the business owners can only be found online or through weekend bazaars, this gives them little exposure and marketing. Nevertheless, the local fashion industry is slowly getting the proper exposure that it deserves. At the end of the day, we would always want something that is truly ours, something that we can be proud of and something that we can show off the world. And this is it, there is an abundance of startups that are trying to penetrate the market and it is our duty as consumers, to support local products and finally patronize something unique and original.