Fashion week fever has also hit the Philippines with the steady increase of Filipino attendees in this year’s Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks
For anybody remotely interested in luxury style and culture, fashion week is the date to mark. Just a little over a week ago, luxury houses concluded their shows and presentations for their Fall-Winter collections, marking the debuts of new creative directors and ushering in trends to define the rest of the year.
While unveiling the next season’s garments is more than enough entertainment for certain onlookers, all eyes can be found on the front row. Fashion week has become a trending topic not only for the style moments but also for the stars making their appearances in full-brand looks.
However, those at the helm of luxury seem to have been gearing East, with K-pop idols and Thai actors becoming front-row mainstays. Fashion week fever has also hit the Philippines with the steady increase of Filipino attendees in this year’s Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks.
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Filipino attendance at an all-time high
Homegrown style icon Heart Evangelista was in attendance for the Prada and Off-White shows, while beauty queen Pia Wurtzbach was seen at the Fendi, Bally, and Prada shows. Actress Max Collins enjoyed her second fashion week cycle at Loewe and Lacoste, and model Kelsey Merritt made appearances for Hermès and Dior.
The rise of Filipino public figures at fashion week can be attributed to their ability to bring in a key metric fashion houses look for: media impact value (MIV). This statistic, as measured by tech and social analytics firm Launchmetrics, helps brands identify the monetary gain they’d likely get from posts, articles, and social media interactions mentioning their celebrity guests.
Veterans Evangelista and Wurtzbach respectively generated $10.6 million and $7 million, respectively, for Fashion Week SS25 last September. During this season, Filipino celebrities overtook South Korean reps in accumulated MIV for the first time due to higher post quantity and frequency from the former. This is a huge feat given the long-term influence K-pop idols and Hallyu actors hold in luxury fashion, and it shows how the Philippines is gradually becoming a market of significant interest.
An increase in Filipino presence in these areas is directly related to Southeast Asia’s emergence as the next leading market for luxury. The region brought in over $14 billion in revenue in 2022, and Bain & Company projects that Southeast Asia will surpass the likes of the Middle East and Latin America in economic growth. Given this upcoming boom, it makes sense that 25 percent of Filipino, Malaysian, and Vietnamese consumers share inclinations of spending more on luxury items, and 42 percent of Southeast Asian consumers see themselves maintaining their spending patterns regardless of inflation, as revealed by Milieu Insights.
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Developing dreams locally and globally
The Philippines’ status as a developing country may hamper its purchasing power for steeply priced luxury goods. However, with an increase in Filipino guests at fashion week and a general preference for aspirational tastes and creators, it comes as no surprise that there is a growing interest in high fashion in the country.
“We like to promote dreams,” says Natasha Roy, a professional working in luxury retail management, whom we interviewed. For Roy, luxury fashion is aspirational and shows Filipino viewers and consumers what they can work towards. The newly widespread access to high fashion in the Philippine and Southeast Asian markets can also be attributed to fashion no longer being restricted by expectations of exclusivity. Instead, fashion has continuously been reframing itself as an outlet for self-expression, allowing people to let their true selves shine with key pieces.
“Unlike before, where fashion week was very, very exclusive, [where] you had to live in Paris, and you really had to work in one of the maisons or even the shows to be able to attend, it’s more accessible now, [because of] how it’s more of a community event that a lot of people can join and express themselves in,” Roy shares.
Outside direct relationships and transactions with key luxury brands, the growing relevance of fashion week in the Philippines influences the styles and offerings of local fashion brands. According to Roy, 2024 fashion week trends such as Miu Miu’s ballerina flats and bohemian chic styles have been adopted by Instagram-based stores run by Filipinos. The adoption of these trends allows Filipino consumers to be more fashion-forward and increases the interest in and aspiration for luxury fashion.
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As luxury houses continue tapping into Filipino and Southeast Asian markets, Roy hopes to see “more local endorsers for luxury brands,” especially lifestyle influencers with identifiable niches.
Despite the allure of Europe’s style selections, we have to continue carving out space for Filipino-made pieces in our closets. Becoming more style-savvy by keeping up with fashion week shows overseas should go hand in hand with supporting local fashion entrepreneurs through vintage sourcing, flea markets, and attendance at local fashion community events.
Though luxury fashion is aspirational, that doesn’t necessarily mean what is economically accessible for most is any less.