One of the country’s leading fashion show directors Jackie Aquino, the brilliant director behind Panasonic Fashion Festival and other huge fashion events in the Philippines, took it upon himself to do his part in uplifting the Filipino fashion industry with his show Fashion for Healing.
2020 walked down the runway, stole the show, and literally stopped everyone on their tracks.
And in a long period of pause, the new normal seems to be overtaking everything on the trending list. But if there are people who have always known how to innovate and adapt ahead of its time, it would be the fashion industry – the people who are used to forecasting and looking at what’s ahead.
But what does the fashion industry think about our future under these trying times?
Twenty-nine fashion designers collectively have answered that question in a video uploaded in the digital world. The virtual runway show dubbed as “New Normal: Fashion for Healing” has indeed uplifted the country’s fashion visionaries and fans alike.
The fashion show video project was organized by premier fashion show and events director Jackie Aquino.
The online runway show featured beautiful models of all sizes and colors as they sashayed into their makeshift catwalk wearing new and repurposed designs by the most celebrated fashion designers in the country.
The video didn’t have any flashy editing too. It was a very authentic and virtually non-filtered experience that reflects a great deal of what we’re all going through now—an unplanned adjustment, adaptive in nature, yet innovative and hopeful. The authenticity of the show is a message of hopefulness and strength amidst a huge trial. The show’s realness is a charm all on its own.
Aquino told Stylish Magazine in a virtual interview that he felt he needed to do something to uplift and empower the fashion industry amidst the pandemic.
“The industry has been really hit hard with a lot of jobs at stake with some designers downscaling or even closing their ateliers,” Aquino shared.
“We felt we needed to do something. The video calls I’ve had with Thelma Sioson San Juan, Marco Protacio, Annie Ringor, Pen Roque and Randy Ortiz, and with their wisdom, the ‘New Normal… Fashion for Healing’ runway series was born.”
The fashion presentation featured the works of Albert Andrada, Jun Escarion, Avel Bacudio, OJ Jofer, Michael Leyva, Yong Davalos, and a lot more.
Leading composer Louie Ocampo also performed and arranged “Dalagang Pilipina” as a soundtrack while EJ Bonagua and Jj San Juan were the hands behind the video magic.
Aquino hopes that by rerouting sales into an e-commerce setup that designers will have newer avenues for business and Filipinos will have more access to Filipino-made garments.
Having said that, this call-to-action also has a more valuable message that goes beyond just the industry. It is a message of hope for Filipinos that we can find ways to survive and we will find ways to heal from this pandemic.
“Each culture is defined by their artistic heritage, may it be visual arts, architecture, music, dance, cuisine, and their costumes. Fashion is still important as the mood of each era is defined by what you see every day… what people are wearing or even costumes,” Aquino shared.
And it looks like all the hard work to document this era’s fashion has paid off. Due to a positively overwhelming response, Aquino reveals that there are already talks of creating a part two and three.
“New Normal: Fashion for Healing Part 2 is in the works for the Fashion Accessory Makers of the Philippines (FAMph), and it will be shown soon. This time we highlight the need to protect our cultural heritage through empowering the craftsmanship of our local communities and artisan,” Aquino shared with Stylish Magazine.
“I really hope it becomes a series of online runway shows. We will hope and pray it does,” Aquino concluded.
If you want to watch the video, you can just type “New Normal: Fashion for Healing” on Youtube’s search bar.