The newly organized Philippine Fashion Coalition (PFC) has made it more fun for Filipino fashion consumers to play an active part in supporting local fashion.
Last week, PFC started a social media movement called #FilipinoFashionFridays, challenging Filipinos to wear locally made fashion pieces, in support of designers, artisans, entrepreneurs, social enterprises and creative communities whose trade is deeply affected by the pandemic.
“I pledge to wear/post Filipino-made every Friday in an effort to support our artisans, designers, creative, businesses and my beloved local fashion industry,” wrote participating netizens.
“Let’s empower the Filipino fashion industry and inspire each other by wearing a Filipino-made piece, old or new . . . Celebrate our creativity as a nation and champion its preservation,” they added.
The response was enthusiastic, with the bulk of the initial posts on both Facebook and Instagram coming from industry insiders—fashion editors, models, designers and brands—as well as ordinary fashion customers.
PFC was created as a business support organization, to help save jobs during the pandemic. The local fashion industry is composed mostly of small and medium enterprises as well as freelancers. Their aim is for businesses to stay afloat and create a postpandemic recovery plan.
Amina Aranaz-Alunan, president of Fashion and Design Council of the Philippines and one of the organizers of PFC, posted a photo of herself carrying an Aranaz clutch. On the front of her Vania Romoff dress was the Araw brooch, which was designed for PFC’s first fundraiser. The brooch was worn by women solons during the State of the Nation Address July 27.
The half-sun brooch design was made with “inabel” fabric and was inspired by the Araw, the rays of the Philippine flag, to symbolize confidence, wisdom, stability and unity amid challenges.
On Monday, PFC picked a favorite look from all the posts last Friday and awarded an Araw brooch to Vanessa East
(@beingmisseast on Instagram), a Cebu-based fashion stylist, who wore a T’boli embroidered chambray shirt by Filip + Inna, with a pineapple clutch by Aranaz. It was an old photo from Hong Kong Fashion Week SS 2019.
Today is, once again, #FilipinoFashionFridays. —CVM
