‘Sinulid 2025’: Bold youth in full display
Filipino fashion’s future has been taking shape, and the graduating students of the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde fashion design and merchandising program are stitching their marks on it, starting with this year’s “Sinulid: Threaded Experience” runway show at the Design and Arts campus in Malate, Manila.
Featuring two designs each from the 34 participants, the show was a reflection of the boldness and freshness of today’s youth. With solid storytelling and strong points of view, the capsule collections were not only well-made but also well thought out.
Divided into four parts—”Awakening,” “Discovery,” “Reminiscent,” and “The Beginning”—the runway show was a parade of jaw-dropping techniques and ideas, with looks that bring viewers to an exciting journey of sartorial self-discovery and transformation.
However, the confidence evident in the creation of these pieces makes audience approval irrelevant. Regardless of anybody listening, these are the stories these young Filipino designers want to tell—and they’re worth listening to.
Resourcefulness
Take the night’s awardees. Top winner Gemma Santos, who bagged the Emerging Creative Talent Award for her collection “Tabi-Tabi Po,” sparked curiosity not only for her representation of lesser-known Filipino mythological creatures but also for her resourcefulness in creating her own surface designs.
According to Santos, all her materials and techniques were driven by the lack of resources. “Since my resources aren’t that abundant, I came up with textile design, where I can make it unique. There’s effort, but within my means.”
The techniques she employed were inspired by the tendrils growing from the balete tree, cording the fabric manually.
Concept award winner Alessandra Caamic mined her experience as a Cebuana and Filipino in her collection called “Balud,” which translates to “wave.”
Taking from her own preference for dressing masculine, Caamic, with the help of her mother, created gender-fluid streetwear pieces using local textiles, embroidery, dyes, and other fabric manipulations.
Serena San Jose won the Fashion Innovation Award, and for good reason. Her designs—earthy and scant—invite a broadening of the imagination when it comes to materials.
The proudly transgendered woman from “far-out” Rizal made leather out of kombucha, which she used for her “Kasakdalan ng Dahas at Laman” capsule collection.
During the process of fermentation, the pellicle formed at the top is collected, dried, and processed to become alternative leather.
“My initial goal was to make something gory. So when I discovered that textile, I thought it fit, and also aligns with what I’m trying to say: Our bodies, including trans bodies, decompose, and kombucha leather is biodegradable, which aligns not only with sustainability but also the aspect of body liberation, bodily autonomy.”
She added, “I really wanted to tell the story where transsexuality and body horror meet. Because society views trans bodies as unsightly, and I wanted to reclaim that through fashion.”
Works of select designers will be on display at the “Sinulid: Threaded Experience” in A1201 Design+Arts Campus, Pablo Ocampo Street, Manila, until May 24.
