Taking a break is not always the most ideal thing to do, especially when there’s more work to be done, but sometimes, it can’t be helped. The good thing about breaks, though, is that they are not meant to be permanent. It is but a small reprieve, a (hopefully) short downtime, an opportunity to regroup and recalibrate, if you will. Silver linings are what you make it, after all.
Restarting after a break does not necessarily have to mean starting from scratch. But it does beg the question: what next?
Getting reacquainted
Contrary to what its name might indicate, the runway is not intended for running, but rather, for walking. This long strip of a lane also disproves the commonplace belief that you need a whole lot of real estate to take up space and express yourself. A box, the runway is not.
So why limit yourself and what you can do on it?
The Philippine Fashion Week has been embodying these truths ever since its inception by the Audie and Joey Espino 30 years ago. The belief and faith that there is more to the runway than being a mere physical platform have guided and informed their decisions on how to navigate this frontier of elevating Philippine fashion to global standards. Even when it had to shut its doors for a while, it clung onto threads of hope that it will be able to overcome the challenges to rise to the occasion–in bold fashion–once more.
23rd October 2024 was the occasion. The Philippine Fashion Week finally reopened its doors, and with it is the reminder that the show does go on, beginning but not ending on the runway.
A new season–with a capital S
The fashion industry may have its own rhyme and reason, but one thing that it truly understands, and deeply, is the seasonality of things. And now, the season of hibernation is over. It is time to put a spring back in our steps and enter a brand-new chapter in the Philippine Fashion Week history.
Philippine Fashion Week is a microcosm of the bigger picture that is the international scene–both are living, breathing entities that shift and grow according to the winds and tides of change.
Surely, you don’t expect it to wear the same old garb–off-season, out of date (although we do love good, sustainable fashion!) – when it’s promising to bring forth all that is new and exciting to the scene, do you?
The runways of Philippine Fashion Week are not just home to the many creative artists and designers who have been fortunate enough to have their craft cast under the spotlight. They are also the gateways to dreams riddled with stars aplenty. But make no mistake about it: this platform is not founded on sheer good fortune. It is built upon the solid grounds of hard work, determination, and perseverance. Only those who are skilled enough, patient enough, resilient enough, determined enough get to succeed and be on top of it.
Do you have what it takes?
The world is your playground… and beyond.
The runway, in its conventional form, is made up of leading lines that train your sights to set on a certain point, much like in a painting, a photograph, or an architecture. In a broader sense, the runway, as a launchpad to your creative success, trains you to set your eyes on a prize, on a goal.
With the return of Philippine Fashion Week, accept its invitation not only to its revelries, but also for you to reexamine your creative process, rethink your sources of inspiration, and reconsider pushing further the boundaries of what else you dare to achieve. The runway, as its own world, is your playground.
Either you make the sky as your limit, or your own fear. Which one will it be?
The runway is now open once more. Now step onto its platform and soar. The Philippine Fashion Week is reinventing the runway. How would you reinvent yours?
