PHx Fashion Conference 2023

Propelling Filipino designers through PHx Station
By Sharrona Valezka

Renz Reyes, deconstructed vest with floral embroidery. Image courtesy of Renz Reyes and PHx Fashion Group.

PHx Fashion Conference returns this year, bringing together the fashion community in the Philippines for discussions on regional and global fashion practices. The conference was first organised in 2019 by the PHx Fashion Group, a collective founded by designers Joseph Bagasao III and Esme Palaganas, with the support of art advocate Trickie Lopa.

PHx Fashion Group: Trickie Lopa, Esme Palaganas, and Joseph Bagasao III. Image courtesy of PHx Fashion Group.

The second iteration of the event, PHx Fashion Conference 2023 is set to take place from 17 to 19 November at the Ayala Museum in Makati City, Manila. It will continue to push the Philippines’ fashion community forward. “The upcoming conference stays close to the goals of the inaugural event: to provide a platform that gives emerging Filipino brands the foundation to take their practice to a global standard,” Trickie explains.

The PHx Fashion Conference has invited key names in the local and international creative landscape to participate in panel discussions and workshop sessions exploring topics ranging from business strategies to international fashion trade, brand identity, and intellectual property. Paris-based Filipino-British designer Norman René De Vera will open the conference speaking about fashion design and the creative process. Other international practitioners who will fly in for the event are the founders of Japan-based PR agency TFC Press, Philippe Terrien, and his wife Giselle Go, who was also the former editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.

Norman René De Vera. Image courtesy of PHx Fashion Group.

Founders of TFC Press, Philippe Terien and Giselle Go. Image courtesy of PHx Fashion Group.

On the second day, Norman, Philippe, and Giselle will conduct portfolio reviews that aim to provide the designers with insightful tips to scale their  brand. Correspondingly, the PHx Fashion Group has invited local practitioners to take part in the conference. Among the confirmed speakers are Pam Quiñones, Fashion Director of Vogue Philippines, and Carl Jan Cruz, Creative Director of his namesake brand.

The conference will accompany PHx Station, a three-month pop-up market that features a rotating batch of Filipino brands each month. It will run from 20 October 2023 to 15 January 2024 at Greenbelt 5 in Makati City. “The PHx Station will be an event that flows from the conference but may also turn out to have its own life,” elaborates Trickie.“We chose the word 'station' because it signifies both an arrival point and a departure point, echoing the experience of the creatives that take part in our activities.”

“The PHx Station will be an event that flows from the conference but may also turn out to have its own life. We chose the word ‘station’ because it signifies both an arrival point and a departure point, echoing the experience of the creatives that take part in our activities.”

The success of PHxMaArte, a fundraising bazaar which benefits the Museum Foundation of the Philippines held at The Peninsula Manila last year, was a significant point in the conception of the PHx Station. Esme states that having market activity is essential to achieve their mission. “We found the missing part of the piece that will complete and make sense with our various initiatives for PHx, which were mostly about preparation and practice,” says Esme.“As theory put into practice, it is the extension of the designer’s brand and creative storytelling that we want to highlight in market events like this."

BAGASÁO, Collection 6. Image courtesy of BAGASÁO and PHx Fashion Group.

The PHx Station has assembled established and emerging names in the Philippines fashion scene. “For some designers, the PHx Station is their first retail or market experience, and we want to extend that brand expression to events that will make their customers closer to the physical expressions of their creative minds,” Esme comments.

Look from IMMA Universe. Image courtesy of IMMA Universe and PHx Fashion Group.

Ha.Mü. Image courtesy of HaMu and PHx Fashion Group.

Look from Apara. Image courtesy of Apara and PHx Fashion Group.

The participating designers are Alexie Nethercott, Aire, Apara, Bagasáo, Ha.Mü, Idyllic Summers, IMMA Universe, Jerome Lorico, Jill Lao, Jude Macasinag, Kelvin Morales, Le Ngok, Liliana Manahan, Neil Felipp, Nicolo, Novel, Randolf, and Renz Reyes. Speaking about how the designers were selected, Trickie says, “One of the benefits of the team’s network and having built up a community these past few years is that we have a great resource of on-the-ground information.” She adds, “We know who is doing exciting work. These designers, including Joseph and Esme, also get together a lot, and they keep abreast of each other’s directions and visions.”

Alexie Nethercott. Image courtesy of Alexie Nethercott and PHx Fashion Group.

With the PHx Fashion Station, the group also stays true to their commitment to support local fashion schools by providing students with a more practical experience. Once again, the PHx Fashion Group is collaborating with De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, iAcademy, and SoFA Design Institute. They will select a student from each school to display their collection at the event.

The mentoring and incubation programme led by the PHx Fashion Group culminates in the PHx Station. Both the market event and the conference serve as part of a larger initiative to build a community of accomplished fashion practitioners in the Philippines. “Circling back to the importance of community, our design community is the reason why Joseph and I have continued pursuing the practice.” Esme elaborates, “There are more and more stockists in the Philippines taking a chance on new designers. I think it is really an exciting moment for us to be existing in this landscape now.”

Thus, what the PHx Fashion Group has established since 2019, with the first conference and all their subsequent events, is a growing community that propels Filipinos to participate in a fashion community beyond the local scene. The PHx Fashion Conference 2023 and accompanying PHx Fashion Station further the PHx Fashion Group’s efforts to strengthen fashion in the Philippines from within.

PHx Fashion Conference 2023. Image courtesy of PHx Fashion Group.

PHx Fashion Conference 2023 will take place from 17 to 19 November at the Ayala Museum in Makati City, Manila.
PHx Station will run from 20 October 2023 to 15 January 2024 at Greenbelt 5.
More information about the PHx Fashion Conference and its full schedule here. Tickets for the conference can be
purchased here.