TWELVE Filipino fashion labels will take center stage at the second edition of FASHIONPhilippines Milan, a brand development program that culminates in an exhibition staged alongside Milan Fashion Week.

FASHIONPhilippines Milan is a brand development and exhibition program designed to put Filipino fashion front and center on the international stage. This year's edition ends with a three-day exhibition at Fondazione Sozzani in Milan from Sept. 22 to 24, coinciding with Milan Fashion Week S/S 2027 — one of the global fashion calendar's most closely watched events, drawing international buyers, press, and industry decision-makers each season. The showcase features works by 12 Filipino brands: Adam Pereyra Jewelry, Bagasáo, Calli, Ched Studio, Idyllic Summers, Iñigo, Jun Escario, Orias, Palengke, Renz Reyes, Viña Romero, and Ziv Rei Alexi.

The program is a collaboration between Fondazione Sozzani — a Milanese cultural institution established by Carla Sozzani in 2016 to promote photography, culture, fashion, and the arts — and, on the Philippine side, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the Philippine Textile Research Institute, the Philippines Consulate General in Milan, the Philippine Fashion Coalition (PFC), and LIT Fashion Consultancy.

Participating brands took part in intensive brand development sessions with an eight-member panel of global fashion leaders. The lineup is led by Sara Sozzani Maino, creative director of Fondazione Sozzani, and includes Silvia Bertocchi, head of the cultural program of Fondazione Sozzani; Veronica Bertozzi, project director for HIMco; Helena Boissonnas, an expert on buying and sourcing for department stores at Le Bon Marché in Paris; Matteo Del Cherico, founder and owner of MDC Showroom; Marina Lyritzi, a wholesale manager and brand consultant; Marzia Narduzzi, a strategic advisor for fashion brands; Tetta Ortiz-Matera, founder of LIT Fashion Consultancy; and Riccardo Terzo, a stylist, fashion editor, consultant, and lecturer.

"Our experience from the inaugural run affirmed the global potential of Filipino fashion while also showing the importance of strengthening brands' readiness to compete internationally," said CITEM Executive Director Leah Pulido Ocampo in a press release. "For 2026, we are developing a more strategic program that gives equal importance to creativity, business development, and long-term market access."

"The business dimension of fashion is paramount," said PFC President Jackie C. Aquino in the same statement, noting that brands must be prepared operationally — not just creatively — to succeed internationally.

Ms. Ortiz-Matera of LIT Fashion Consultancy emphasized the importance of understanding how international markets operate. "Local brands must understand that doing business internationally requires a different mindset — from wholesale pricing and delivery timelines to collection structure and buyer engagement," she said.

According to the organizers, the participating brands were chosen "with both strong design identities and the capacity to scale, supported by closer collaboration between industry and government partners." The broader goal, the press release stated, "is to help position Filipino as a globally competitive industry by 2035, supported by innovation, textile development, and cohesive industry support."

The first edition of the program already produced measurable progress: two Filipino brands secured representation with two separate Paris-based showrooms, a step toward integrating Filipino fashion into the global market, the release noted. Showroom representation is a common gateway into European retail, giving brands a channel to department store buyers and independent boutiques during buying seasons — expertise mirrored on the program's own panel of buying, sourcing, and wholesale specialists.

Whether this year's cohort secures comparable international representation will be one early measure of the program's progress, with organizers pointing to a more strategically structured 2026 edition as the next step toward the 2035 goal.

Source: BusinessWorld