Weaving dreams
Philippine fashion is currently in a season of design competitions. The local industry is brimming with talent and is a spectacular platform for those who want to tread and thread the path to the world of fashion.
After many years of not holding a competition, the members of the Fashion Design Council of the Philippines (FDCP), led by current president JC Buendia, took the spotlight when they recently launched “Weaving the Future: A Social Design Competition” at Mandarin Oriental, Manila. It is a search for the most promising young talent in the country. The premier fashion design group aims to discover, groom, develop and support the next design genius in the Philippines. Instilling fashion with a conscience, the purpose is to create design with social relevance. The FDCP also supports rural communities in providing consistent and sustainable livelihood through design via the creation of products made from indigenous materials, crafts and fabrication as those featured on this spread.
The mechanics of the competition are as follows:
1. The Philippine Fashion Design Council (PFDC) has two divisions: Apparel and Accessories (fashion and home décor). For Apparel, applicants must submit three design entries each consisting of a three- to five-piece collection for the modern day man or woman while Accessories division applicants must submit three one-piece design entries for home or fashion that are true to the theme “Weaving the Future: A Social Design Competition.” 
2. A Developmental Business Plan must be submitted along with the design entries for the judges to gauge the social impact of the applicant’s entry. The plan must be able to answer the following questions: Who and how many will benefit from it? What are the organic materials? How much profit can be expected? What is the overall impact one hopes to achieve with one’s plan?
3. Applications will be screened according to the following criteria: originality and excellence in interpreting the theme (35 percent); marketability (20 percent); execution and workmanship (20 percent) and social impact (25 percent).
Finally, entries will be trimmed down to the top 20 finalists, with 10 best entries for each division. Each finalist will then be paired with a social entrepreneur, a livelihood officer and community representative to ensure that the business development plan can be executed.
Finalists will be enrolled in an extensive mentoring program headed by FDCP’s own Dong Omaga-Diaz and Jojie Lloren. The School of Fashion and the Arts will also facilitate a customized training module for all finalists during the mentoring phase of the competition. 
The FDCP boasts of the country’s outstanding designers namely Edwin Ao, Ivarluski Aseron, PJ Aranador, Avel Bacudio, Vittorio Barba, JC Buendia, Joey Enriquez, Ramon Esteban, Arcy Gayatin, Len Nepomuceno-Guiao, Oj Hofer, Gerry Katigbak, Rajo Laurel, Jojie Lloren, Anthony Nocom, Tippi Ocampo, Dong Omaga-Diaz, Randy Ortiz, Frederick Peralta, Joey Samson, Hindy Weber-Tantoco, Jerome Ang, Amina Aranaz-Alunan, Joel Escober, Gerry Sunga and Cary Santiago. The FDCP advisory board includes Lulu Tan Gan, Josie Natori and Cesar Gaupo.
Interested applicants may send their complete application form with a scanned copy of all required materials to weavingthefuture@gmail.com. Application forms and guidelines are available at www.pldtwatchpad.com and may also be requested through +63949-6885230. Deadline is extended until Aug. 15.
(E-mail the author at mymultiplechoice@yahoo.com.
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