The best of Philippine fashion at Manila Fashion Festival 2021

Life, as does fashion, always finds a way. Not a few people may have postponed their shopping sprees and visits to their favorite designers these days, as they spend most of their time working from home. But that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped dreaming of one day slipping into that fabulous dress or that sharp suit as the world gears itself up for life outside the streets, in company boardrooms and hotel ballrooms, post-COVID 19.

Despite the pandemic, Manila Fashion Festival (MFF) decided to brave the situation, as it stepped forward to advance its mission of providing a platform for outstanding creative talents in the fashion industry. 

Benjie Panizales
Bamba Limon
Alodia Cecilia
Ziggy Savella

After foregoing last year’s edition, organizers and participants put their best foot forward as they took part in this year’s reset. The five-day MFF featured 24 designers and fashion houses, and nearly a dozen of the country’s top models.

In keeping with health protocols set by the government, MFF was a very different event from what it was in 2019. In the absence of live shows, journalists, influencers and  fashion enthusiasts had to view the collection in installments via live streaming. 

GO Lifestyle Group has also taken over as Manila Fashion Festival’s new organizer. AC Design Yard and JCA Productions were appointed as this year’s production companies. 

Major sponsors were Panasonic Philippines, which has been supporting MFF since 2018, Stylem, Yoshioka & Company and Okada Manila, the event’s official runway venue partner.

Despite all these changes, the event’s main focus was still MFF’s featured designers and their fashion forecast in the coming seasons. Apart from Manila, the annual festival also featured talents from other major cities in the country such as Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro, making it truly a diverse national event.

Mark Yaranon
Renan Pacson for Stylem fabrics
Bessie Besana
Avel Bacudio
Steph Tan

Featured designers and fashion houses were as follows:

Day 1- Avel Bacudio, Camlu x Creative Definitions, Dodjie Batu, Mark Yaranon, Melvin Lachica, Win del Mira. 

Day 2- Ann Semblante, Bamba Limon, Dino Lloren, Edgar Buyan, Joshua Guibone, Ziggy Savella. 

Day 3- PMFF x Stylem Collection
Collaboration, featuring 24 MFF designers using Stylem fabrics. 

Day 4- Bessie Besana, Chris Diaz, Dexter Alazas, Emir Yamamoto, Marc Rancy, Renan Pacson. 

Day 5- Alodia Cecilia, Benjie Panizales, Gil Macaibay, Mavy Ladlad, Steph Tan. 

Melvin Lachica
Joshua Guibone
Dodgie Batu
Chris Diaz