Two months into the quarantine, Marga Nograles and her collaborators hit upon the idea of producing a newer, more current and more relevant line of clothing dubbed as Kaayo’s AnyWEAR Collection.
In keeping with the demands of the times, Kaayo, true to its roots as “modern Mindanao” wear, has endeavored itself to evolve and be more responsive to the needs and wants of its valued clientele.
When the current crisis hit the country and the homegrown brand, people behind it, led by Marga Norgrales, “paused only for a brief moment then got back on our feet working from home one day at time.” The brand’s artisans, adds Marga, worked with weaves, beads and threads that tribes had stocked at home. At the same time, they upcycled everything they could find.
Kaayo Modern Mindanao is a curated collection of different Mindanao stories. The brand aims to bring together what is most unique from the region to come up with bespoke one-of-a-kind items and stories. It is in light of this that its quick response to the pandemic came in phases.
First it set up a feeding program for frontliners in the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao. When Kaayo’s sewers reached out to to their team leaders for help, they were tapped to make cloth masks for the brand that were, in turn, donated to more frontliners. Kaayo also collaborated with ICA Tazians for PPE donations to small hospitals around the Philippines.
While this was all going on, tribes affiliated with Kaayo did not stop working. Then two months into the quarantine, Marga and her collaborators hit upon the idea of producing a newer, more current and more relevant line dubbed as AnyWEAR Collection.
Apart from producing a collection that represented hope and faith, the output is also a testament to Mindanaons’ creativity and resourcefulness to work on any available material in front of them.
“Mindanaoans have fought long and hard – and although this has been the greatest crisis we have ever faced – we are used to fighting the hard fight. This crisis taught us how to listen to our clients and study what the world needed right now. The world needed hope. The world needed us to keep on going. We decided not to let the pandemic overtake us, but rather rise above it and go with it–one day at a time,” says Marga.
It is in this light that the Kaayo AnyWEAR collection was born. A collection of water-repellent jumpsuits and coats that have been hand-beaded by the Mindanao indigenous tribes. It also includes Mindanao track suits, T’boli hand-beaded masks, PPE bags and Mindanao hand-embroidered face shield visors.
Proceeds from this collection will go to Kaayo’s #BeatCOvid19Campaign, a campaign that evolves every day with the aim to help those that need it the most.
In the beginning, Kaayo would donate face masks and PPEs to frontliners and small hospitals. “Now, we are looking at launching more collaborations–all of which are geared in helping win these series of fights no matter how little they are,” says Marga.
Each piece from this collection tells a story of a people fighting for sustainability, courage and hope, she adds.
The Kaayo AnyWEAR Collection will go live on www.kaayoph.com this July 10 a.m. New collections will be launched on the website every week after this. You may also follow kaayo.ph on Instagram for updates on new collections, collaborations and how you can help.
