STYLE / PHILIPPINES
Ten Philippine brands worth knowing. From the motherland, with a point of view that deserves more light.
SIMPLE 10 EDITORIAL · OCTOBER 2026
The starting point is the work. Clothes, jewelry and objects made with a distinct perspective, rooted in the Philippines. These are ten labels we think deserve a closer look.
01 / THE SELECTION
Workwear references, visible stitching and panelled construction. Fortune builds character into the garment, right down to the pockets.
We like how Fortune makes familiar clothing worth a second look. The outlines feel easy to wear; the seams and surfaces give you something to discover. That balance is what earns it a place here. You can appreciate the design before you ever ask where it comes from.
02 / THE SELECTION
Rik Rasos draws on Manila’s everyday imagery and his own memories, turning found references and deadstock materials into expressive clothes.
Proudrace makes familiar details feel personal. A graphic or a household memory becomes something you want to wear. That sense of place is what draws us in.
03 / THE SELECTION
Pambahay, piqué and denim become material for experiments in proportion, texture and the feeling of familiar clothes.
Cruz understands how much personality lives in the clothes we barely think about. Roomy shapes and unexpected fabric combinations make everyday dressing feel considered. We like that the work invites repeat wear and closer inspection. Familiarity becomes a source of invention.
04 / THE SELECTION
Noli Coronado and Dante Dizon turn motorcycle culture and sculptural detail into silver jewelry with a deliberately rough character.
Look at the face of a ring: the recesses, the uneven surface, the sense that someone worked it by hand. That is the appeal. We want jewelry that gets more personal with wear, and 13 Lucky Monkey gives that idea a physical form.
05 / THE SELECTION
Seph Bagasao’s “Fragments of Time” uses muslin, organza, running stitches and hand-sewn beads to give basic materials depth.
The first impression is restraint. Get closer and the handwork begins to explain the piece. That slow reveal is why we chose BAGASÁO: shape draws you in, then construction holds your attention. The detail rewards looking without needing to announce itself across the room.
06 / THE SELECTION
Embroidery, experimental textures and altered tailoring give familiar garments a new personality. Filipino craft is part of the process.
Morales treats the surface of a garment as somewhere to explore. An embroidered image or an unexpected texture changes how you read the whole outfit. We like the willingness to make craftsmanship feel playful, strange and current. These are clothes that give you a reason to look again.
07 / THE SELECTION
Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki build a playful world through color, exaggerated shapes and clothes that invite self-expression.
The fun is immediate, but making unusual proportions feel convincing takes an eye. HA.MÜ gives us a welcome sense of possibility: clothing can change your posture, your mood and the space you take up. We chose it for that imagination and its refusal to make every outfit behave.
08 / THE SELECTION
RJ Santos brings pop-culture curiosity to clothes, from bright tailoring to expressive embroidery on bespoke barongs.
Randolf makes room for personality. The vivid color, altered proportions and unexpected graphics give the clothes a sense of humor. We like a label that can take its making seriously while leaving the wearer free to have fun. There is room for both in a good wardrobe.
09 / THE SELECTION
Handmade in Cebu, Neil Felipp’s sculptural accessories bring local craftsmanship into conversation with literature, myth and fantasy.
The object catches your eye before you know its story. Shell, sculptural ornament and a strong silhouette give these pieces presence beyond their size. We chose Neil Felipp because the imagination is visible in the thing itself. You can carry a bag and a small piece of theater.
10 / THE SELECTION
Joyce Makitalo works with Bulacan goldsmiths on sculptural jewelry shaped by art, talismans and her roots in the rock scene.
A strong piece of jewelry can shift the mood of everything around it. Makitalo’s work has that presence: strange faces, unexpected forms and surfaces that ask for a closer look. We would build an outfit around one of these pieces and let it set the tone.
SIMPLE 10 / OUR POV
The details are the reason to pay attention. The construction, the imagination, the sense of place. We want these names in the conversation because the work stands up on its own.