If the term “green fashion” makes you think of people wearing clothes made from grass, then you are wrong. Not technically, but your visual scope would be far too narrow to make it right. Take a look at the ecouture paraded at the intercollegiate fashion competition held at SMX Convention Center, SM Aura on Janaury 30, 2016, and you will be floored by what creative minds can build with discarded materials.
Called the Green Fashion Revolution, the fashion competition production was a true fashion show in every sense. Designs included in the show were pre-judged on the usual fashion parameters such as Design Concept (30%), Design Execution and Craftsmanship (25%), and Design Overall Visual Effect (15%). But on top of those, they were also required to show Sustainability (30%), which means a design must demonstrate the creative recycling of waste material to a more functional, practical design that is saleable and marketable to the public.
The event showcased eco-friendly designs by young Filipino talents from the Asia Pacific College, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and University of the Philippines-Diliman. Each of these three teams chose a design concept that raised awareness of the impact of human activities on the environment.
Design Concepts
The design concept of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLSCSB) was about water pollution and how humans were really its main cause. According to the designers, colorful bits of fabric attached to their fashion pieces gave the illusion of beauty, but they were actually “trash by the sea”. If this was their intention, then they had expressed trash in a very trendy way.
UP Diliman’s design concept was a social commentary on the wastefulness of today’s world, such as non-biodegradable packaging that came with our grocery. Packaging materials from grocery were recycled into a children’s wear collection, in the hope to tell younger audiences that they were never too young to start saving the world.
The design concept chosen by Asia Pacific College was Payo, the Ifugao word for rice field. APC students wanted to encourage people to bring back the health of our rural lands and the environment.
Winners
Awards were given in four categories: Best Clothing Design, Best Accessories Design, Best Bag Design, and Best Footwear Design. On top of the grand prize, winners will get to implement a corporate social responsibility project for their chosen beneficiary.To bring their designs to life, designers have repurposed an estimated 200 kilos of waste material from various Aboitiz business units.
DLSCSB won the first prize of the competition, as well as all the four categories. 1st runner-up was UP-Diliman.
Proponents
Green Fashion Revolution was the brainchild of a group of Aboitiz scholars during the Aboitiz ScholarsÔÇÖ CSR Summit in December 2011 and was first staged in 2012 through the auspices of the Aboitiz Foundation. Since then, it has been challenging students to create clothing, footwear, and accessories that make use of recycled materials and highlight the importance of the 3RsÔÇöreduce, reuse, and recycle.
Judges of the competition were : Ms Melissa Aboitiz-Elizalde, Ms. Mia Borromeo, Mr. Ito Curata, Mr. Jose Paolo Dela Cruz, Ms. Celia Elumba, and Ma. Rosanna Frances Ocampo-Rodriguez.
Success
The event has brought the attention of design students to the possibility of incorporating green elements in their design. It also raised awareness of the public in general of the need to be conscious of the impact of our action on the environment. In other words, it has added substance to style.
Aboitiz Foundation also used the occasion to promote the cause to preserve pawikan (hawkbilled sea turtle) sanctuary.
