Aside from showcasing a 10-piece collection, four participating design schools—Fashion Institute of the Philippines, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, SoFa and Slim’s—also got student designers to come up with one-of-a-kind sneaker designs.

Using Converse Chuck Taylors as canvases, these student designers showcased their craftsmanship. Creativity and imagination had no limits as the students used different materials, including plastic toys, nail polish and more.

Jude Raymond Macasinag
Slim’s Fashion and Arts School

Jude’s concept was to bring life to inanimate objects. Inspired by the work of artist Leeroy New, he used industrial zip ties, plastic toys, toy rings and neon spray paint to create this masterpiece.

Katrin Destano
Slim’s Fashion and Arts School

Her shoe design is based on the quote, “We are not limited by money, but rather by the poverty of our own dreams,” by author and historian Doug Wead.

Soojin Yang
De La Salle-College of St. Benilde

Soojin wanted to make the red Converse stand out more by having it embroidered with flowers and a skull. Since red reminds her so much of Christmas, she thought of a reindeer, but using a reindeer skull with florals instead to make it different.

Bernard Escalona and Via Valencia
Fashion Institute of the Philippines

For Bernard’s design (left), he fell in love with embellishments and got inspiration from the French embroidery design house Maison Lesage in mixing different sequins, beads and pearls, which was also very visible in his #2bUFaceOff pieces.

Via’s design (right) was titled “In time we rust,” inspired by the Japanese aesthetic “wabi-sabi.”

Kylie Griego and Ceneth Hontomen
Fashion Institute of the Philippines

Maximalism and excess were the inspirations behind the clothes Kylie (left) designed for Face-Off, and he used the same materials for the Converse sneakers. The use of vibrant colors and ostrich feathers made the shoe stand out, giving out a happy vibe.

Ceneth (right) used acrylic paint in pastel colors, then glued on patches that were sequined and embroidered and finished off with rhinestones. The designer intended to make his design kitschy and over the top, which reflected the shoes’ fun and playful image.

Esme Palaganas
De La Salle-College of St. Benilde

Esme wanted to connect her customized shoe design to the theme of her Face-Off garment, which was all about embellishments and a play on beadwork on unexpected surfaces. She designed it in a way that made it wearable as well.