Fil-Am artists' designs come to life in 'Buhay' clothing capsule collaboration

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – Eleven months ago, Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Rokit co-founders and brothers Bam and Rion Barcena's visit to Vacancy Projects studio quickly turned into a trip down the memory lane to their Filipino heritage. 

The Barcena brothers and Vacancy Projects founder and creative director Kristofferson San Pablo share a mutual love for the arts, hip-hop, skateboarding and hoops. The conversation among the three Filipino-American artists and designers naturally gravitated toward Filipinos' love affair with basketball.   

Rokit co-founders and brother Bam and Rion Barcena. Overtime

Last weekend, their ideas and designs came to life in Overtime's latest clothing collection, aptly named “Buhay.” 

"The 'Buhay' collection (Filipino translation for 'Life') is a love letter to art, basketball & my Filipino-American upbringing. It also serves as a reflection of both myself & (Rokit's creative director) Bam Barcena's identity as Filipino Americans on the west coast," San Pablo said in a press release. 

In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, San Pablo and Barcena shared how that January meetup gave birth to the Overtime x Rokit x Vacancy Projects collaboration that pays homage to their Filipino heritage. 

"When they came to visit my studio, we struck a long conversation about our identity as Filipino-Americans, but also our relationship, presence & representation in those creative spaces," said San Pablo, who was born in the Philippines and traced his family roots in Dapitan and Quezon City. "We spoke about how much our people played big parts in those spaces but were never really represented visually, and that gave me the idea for the artwork that eventually became our Buhay collection."

Bam Barcena, whose biggest works include designing the Nike Kyrie Irving 5 Rokit, singled out one element that uniquely identifies with Philippine hoops – tsinelas. 

"We wanted to create a capsule collection that consisted of a full look that embodied the experience of what someone would wear while playing basketball in the Philippines. During the process of designing the collection, I was reminded of countless times visiting the Philippines and seeing people, young and old, playing basketball for hours on end in tsinelas. To be able to drive in wearing tsinelas on a concrete court is nothing short of amazing and a true testament to the love of the sport," Bam Barcena told Philstar.com. 

"We ran through a few drafts, and it all felt fine, but initially, for me, I kept asking myself if it felt good & right.  When I drew the tsinelas on the characters, I definitely felt good," San Pablo said with a laugh.

The collection features the artwork of San Pablo, which includes his signature cartoon-style fight cloud, a “Buhay” basketball character as a nod to the popular hoop phrase 'ball is life' and various iconography associated with island life across a range of hoodies, tees, sweatpants, shorts, and accessories.

San Pablo, who obtained a master's degree in Fine Arts from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, grew up in California as a Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant fan. The late Hall of Famer's Dear Basketball, an Oscar-acclaimed short film, wasn't lost on him. He drew inspiration from that and Bryant's impact on Philippine basketball. San Pablo made the Overtime collection his love letter to his craft, basketball, and Philippine heritage. 

Vacancy Projects founder Kristofferson San Pablo. Overtime

For Barcena, who has been in the industry for over two decades now, he said he finds inspiration in the youth and the way they continuously evolve. 

"From culture in music, fashion, and sports, everything intertwines to a point where lines are blurred and being loyal to one genre of music is no longer the norm," said Barcena, born in the U.S. and traces his family roots in Olongapo and Vigan City. 

Their collaboration with Overtime not only shines a light on the Philippines' love affair with basketball but also Filipinos' natural and world-class talents on and off the court.  

The multi-dimensional lifestyle brand, community, and disruptive content company, Overtime, has always championed Filipino talents since being established in 2016. They followed Kai Sotto's basketball journey in the US before the Filipino prodigy took his talents to the National Basketball League in Australia. Currently, Ateneo product Lebron Lopez is part of the Overtime Elite program, the company's professional basketball league. The OTE serves as an alternative path to the pros for top high school players in the U.S. and abroad.

One of the “Buhay” clothing capsule models is Filipino-American high school player Roman Santos. The 6-foot-4 Santos is the son of two-time PBA champion Rommel Santos, who played for the defunct Shell Turbochargers and Tanduay Rhum Masters. 

Roman Santos, son of former PBA player Rommel Santos. Overtime

Roman Santos is a junior swingman at South River High School. 

While the Philippines is still waiting for homegrown talent in the NBA, the Barcena brothers and San Pablo are proud to have Filipino-American players Jordan Clarkson and this year's second overall pick Jalen Green represent them. 

"Most definitely, representation matters, and it's for that reason that I've always been a huge advocate for supporting our kababayans back home and Fill-Ams in the states. However, I know there's always so much more that I could do to contribute to our community and shine a light on all the many talented Filipinos in fashion, film, music, hoops, and arts. Working on this project with Kris and putting it out into the world has been a step toward that and at the same time has been so fulfilling," Barcena said. 

"It means the world to me.  Representation is important, especially for Filipino-Americans and even more so Fil-Ams in these creative spaces.  We aren't represented much, and I feel as an artist, it's my duty to be able to uplift and represent my people in my art," San Pablo said. 

"And to inspire even with the smallest of gestures is very meaningful.  But I do hope to make bigger gestures in the near future and really inspire not only my people but also all people who feel like they don't fit in with the rest of normal society.  That's what art, hip-hop, skating & graffiti did for me, and that bigger cultural reach is what I strive for."

The Overtime, Rokit, and Vacancy Projects' 'Buhay' capsule is available at Overtime's website (https://shop.overtime.tv/collections/overtime-rokit). 

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.