Wardrobe change: Fashion brands by Filipinos you need to try on

Now is the best time to support local brands! In terms of fashion, local Filipino designers are on top of their game in flaunting their roots into their creations in the most fashionable way possible.

Check out the local brands we think deserve to be in your closet:

ANIKA

Photo courtesy: https://wearanika.com/

In February 2016, Anika Martinez, who studied at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles opened her own fashion brand called ANIKA. With the purpose of empowering women by making them feel confident in mind, her designs are notably in casual cool, and laidback style.

KAAYO Modern Mindanao

Photo courtesy: https://kaayoph.com/

Founded by a mother-daughter duo, Mary Ann "Baby" Montemayor and Margarita Nograles, KAAYO incorporates the indigenous Mindanao artistry into its pieces of personal styles that made the brand unique. Each wearable piece flaunts the weaving tradition of the southern part of the country.

RIOTASO

Photo courtesy: https://riotaso.com/

The brand’s name is a combination of the founder’s, Rio Estaur, and the word ‘retaso’, which means scrap fabric. Rio was challenged by the number of scraps accumulated throughout the process of creating clothes, so she started the adventure of creating a clothing line out of scrap fabric. Even the packaging promotes zero waste by using compostable cassava bags for wrapping with recycled paper notes.

MUNIMUNI

Photo courtesy: https://www.munimunistudio.com/

This brand’s advocacy is to consume consciously and provide opportunities to rural communities. All the products are handmade using traditional techniques that have been passed on to several generations of Filipinos, and the designs are 100% biodegradable except the linings and soles parts.