So, you’re a young, undiscovered fashion designer with dreams of making it big. Think you have what it takes to make the dream come true?
You’re in luck.
Bench is bringing back the Bench Design Awards for the third time. Three winners will be receiving an all-expense paid trip to Tokyo, not to mention a slot at the Tokyo Fashion Week to showcase their work. After that, you can ditch “undiscovered” in your moniker.
If you need inspiration, allow the works of previous winners to speak for themselves. In 2017, we got RJ Santos of Randolf, who has garnered a cult following for his streetwear line, and Jenni Contreras of Problem Studios, whose sex-positive works are pushing the boundaries of design and stigma.
From 2018, there was Ched Dalogaog of Ched Studio whose works have been featured on Vogue Italia, and Sherwin “Otto” Sacramento of Ottomondi who was invited to participate in the Vogue Italia Altaroma 2018 Portfolio Review.
Other BDA alumni include duo-designer brands Ha.Mu (Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki) who will be exhibiting their works in Paris this year, and TOQA (Isabel Sicat and Aiala Rickard) who now have their own sportswear-inclined line. Not bad company to be in, right?
If you’re interested, here’s the lowdown on the mechanics.
- You have to be a bona fide Filipino 20 years of age or older
- You must be residing in the Philippines for the duration of the competition
- You must be an independent designer. That means no affiliations, sponsorships or employment from any apparel companies.
If you’re applying as a group, all members should fit the requirements.
Still fit the bill? Great! Now all you have to do is prepare your application requirements, plus a mood board along with eight designs for your Spring/Summer 2020 collection. If you make it through, you’ll eventually be creating all these looks and more, so make sure they’re designs that you love.
For the full deets, you can check them here. Submission ends on Jun 15, so you still have a little over two weeks to pull together your collection. Time to pull out that sketchbook, kids.
Photos from Bench