Bench Fashion Week Day 2: A night of contrasts

The second day of Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2026 last Sept. 27 got off to a late start, but eventually gained its bearings, moving from youthful irreverence to polished femininity and unabashed sex appeal. It was a night of contrasts, from Human’s irreverent graphic designs and Kashieca’s ladylike allure to Chris Nick’s provocative denims. Bench Originals gathered the rising celebrities, while Bench Active brought the abs and the curves.

Human x Proudrace
Marking the fourth collaboration between local streetwear giant Human and experimental label Proudrace, designer Rik Rasos brings his signature style to the runway. Rasos was a skateboarder before apprenticing with designers Cecile Zamora and Mich Dulce. Rooted in Manila’s underground scene, he is known for infusing streetwear with irony, 2000s internet nostalgia, and localized pop culture humor.

Rasos sees the collection as unisex and highly personal. “The pieces are meant to give the wearer room to style them according to their personality rather than simply copying the way they were presented,” he told The DiaristPH.

The collection reinterprets the early aughts subculture through an experimental high-fashion lens that blends underground youth culture with modern streetwear design. Emo subculture centers on intense introspection, emotional vulnerability, and 2000s indie and rock music tropes. Rasos subverts this tradition, playing on vintage Y2K teen subculture tropes, internet slang, and tongue-in-cheek emotional archetypes. This comes to life on statement pieces such as an asymmetric black skirt covered in distressed block lettering reading “EMO BOYS” and a playful “I ❤️ EM…” motif with a bright red heart.

Graphic tops anchor the lineup. A black hoodie features a Google-inspired parody graphic localized as the “Good Boys Club, Manila Chapter,” layered over a white “CLUB” label and minimalist sub-tags for “HUMAN” and “PROUDRACE.” A deep burgundy t-shirt is stamped with a bold lowercase “100% human” statement and vertical sleeve branding. Another white T-shirt carries the words “I miss you baby.” The back has a detail that looks almost like a bimpo (small towel) on the back of the wearer, which is a trompe l’oeil for a playful effect.

Denim completes the utilitarian narrative. Medium-dark blue jeans are custom-printed vertically with italicized athletic text logos for “PROUDRACE” and “HUMAN” alongside racing-stripe motifs. A classic indigo denim shirt features a small stitched gold heart patch on the pocket. Rasos also introduces graphic-focused accessories, including a narrow dark navy necktie featuring vertical block lettering in bright orange and white, custom belts, and graphic interpretations of traditional paisley scarves.

Ultimately, the collection is essentially an extension of Human’s identity as a graphic-design and T-shirt brand.

Kashieca x Lucy Torres Gomez
Collaborator and muse Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez was the defining highlight of the runway, emerging in a sleek bias-cut dress with a low neckline bordered with fine texture and an asymmetrical ruffled hem. Paired with neutral pointed-toe pumps and delicate jewelry, it captured the balance of minimalism and romance that defines her style.

Easy cardigan and linen baggy pants in magenta and purple for Kashieca

The fourth project between Gomez and ladieswear brand Kashieca reflects her preference for polished, unfussy clothes. The collection favors clean cuts and fluid silhouettes over trends, with wide-leg trousers, structured midi lengths, halter tops, wrap details, and pieces designed to move easily.

The color palette ranges from deep navy, plum and burgundy to muted olive, terracotta and sage, with crisp white, black, and earthy neutrals grounding the collection.

The fourth project between Lucy Torres-Gomez and ladieswear brand Kashieca reflects her preference for polished, unfussy clothes

“I am not frou-frou,” Gomez says. “There are things I’ll never wear. It’s not anything against them, but I’m not really a fan of prints. Too many prints and animal prints look good on a lot of women, but I can’t carry them. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

She wanted the makeup, styling, and jewelry to be equally restrained. “It had to be so clean, sleek, elegant, and light. I just wanted the model to look and feel like a lady.”

The collection heralds veteran model Wilma Doesnt and her daughter, Asiana, in short-sleeved cropped tops with gathered necklines and slightly puffed sleeves, paired with gathered shorts and delicate bracelets and earrings.

Gomez drew on her experience with her daughter, Juliana (her unica hija with Rep. Richard Gomez). They borrow clothes from each other because they wear the same shoe size and roughly the same dress size. “I like pieces that a mother can pass on to her daughter,” she says.

Natural fabrics were another priority. Gomez advocates pure silk, linen, and cotton (no blends), positioning the clothes as investment pieces rather than disposable fashion.

“I’m really not a fan of fast fashion. I feel it’s a waste of resources,” she says.

The prices remain accessible, she says, although they are higher than polyester-blend camisoles. She had been buying clothes from international shopping sites but found many of them expensive. “No local brand does it, save for a few cottage industries, probably, but none that are as commercially available as Kashieca,” she says. “I wanted to make that available to the Kashieca woman, since I’ve had this long-standing relationship with them for four collections already.”

Ease is central to how Gomez expects the clothes to be worn. A top can be tucked in for a closer silhouette or left loose after lunch without losing its shape or elegance. “It’s not like you have to suck in the tummy the whole day,” she says. “If you’re feeling very good about your body and you want to show off how well you’ve taken care of it or how much you’ve worked out, then you can definitely show off.”

Camisoles with lower necklines can be paired with draped skirts, while long-sleeved blouses and cardigans make them adaptable to cooler indoor settings.

Gomez calls her approach “Style Sudoku”: three tops, three bottoms, and three layers, such as cardigans, blazers, or vests, chosen from a cohesive palette and mixed into multiple outfits.

She applies the same philosophy to dressing for formal occasions. “Dressing should be done the French way. It’s very easy. It’s not like you spend the whole day getting ready for three hours of your life.”

Asked how she has maintained her trim figure, Gomez says she has moderated her diet for the past decade. Her secret is simple: knowing when to stop.

Bench x Chris Nick
Three years ago, Chris Nick joked about what he would do if Bench ever asked him to design a collection. This year, the joke became real.

His answer is a wardrobe built around the way he dresses himself: low-rise jeans, exposed underwear, tight ribbed shirts, cowboy references, and clothes that leave little doubt about the body underneath.

Denim is at the center. Nick calls it one of his fetishes, and the collection has four jean cuts drawn from silhouettes he actually wears: flares, straight-leg jeans similar to a 501, low-rise loose jeans, and low-rise bootcuts. They sit deliberately low, almost to the butt crack. The men’s jeans are tight through the crotch as well as low on the hips, with his signature star embroidered on the pockets.

The denim is heavy and stiff, “as jeans should be.” Nick likes clothes with weight and substance and does not want them to arrive looking artificially worn. The jeans are neither pre-tattered nor heavily distressed. The wearer, he says, should do that part, creating the wear and customization over time.

There are also denim micro-miniskirts, cut just short enough to cover the woman’s essentials, which will be sold in Bench stores. Leather, another of Nick’s fetishes, appears as patches on the denim. Tank tops carry words he associates with himself, including “Narcissist,” “Spoiled Brat,” and “Little Mommy.”

The collection’s cowboy references go back to Nick’s first collection, I Love Cowboys, and to his fascination with Americana in the aughts.

The same fascination with hypermasculinity runs through his interest in Tom of Finland. Nick discovered the Finnish artist’s work as a “naughty little boy” looking at pornography on the internet. He was drawn not only to the bodies but to the clothes, particularly Tom’s motorcyclists in leather jackets, white T-shirts, tight jeans, and boots. Thus, the exaggerated masculine figures became part of his visual vocabulary.

In Los Angeles, Nick met Dirk Dehner, former president of the Tom of Finland Foundation, who gave him a private tour of his home. Nick says he loves gay and queer literature and history.

The upper-body pieces continue the same vocabulary: cropped trucker jackets, Western shirts, and denim jackets. The Western shirts are made from the same heavy fabric as the jeans.

One of the defining looks pairs a crisp white dress shirt, with its cuffs showing under a jacket, with extremely low-rise jeans leaving the underwear band visible. Nick says it is essentially what he wears every day. White ribbed T-shirts hug the body as well.

He waxes philosophical that the body is the outfit.

For Nick, clothes should not overpower the person wearing them. They should serve the body. Former beauty queen Michelle Dee made that point on the runway in super-low-rise denim, Bench Body high-cut underwear in full display, a white ribbed tank under a Bench denim jacket.

The Bench collaboration also gives Nick access to people he would not ordinarily reach through his own label. He sees younger consumers as increasingly comfortable with sexiness, sexual freedom, and fluidity.

The proposition is not complicated. For Nick, it comes down to three things: attitude, sex, and cool.

Bench Originals
The Harrington, varsity, and coach jackets, along with familiar trouser cuts, are among the staples that have defined Bench Originals. For its latest collection, the brand revisits these essentials with contemporary colors, prints, and proportions, drawing on the streetwear and preppy styles of the 1990s and early 2000s.

The collection is a modern take on Bench classics, says Noel Manapat, the brand’s longtime creative consultant. The timing is significant as Bench turns 40 next year, a milestone for the homegrown label.

Some updates come through hybrid garments that play with layering. In the early 2000s, wearing a T-shirt over a long-sleeved shirt was familiar styling. Bench Originals turns the look into a single piece, combining the layers to create the illusion of separate garments. Other designs similarly appear to pair a T-shirt with a V-neck pullover but are actually one garment, a trompe l’oeil approach to layered dressing.

The sports jacket is also reworked. Traditionally made in nylon, some versions use woven fabrics for a dressier finish, while cotton styles retain sporty piping. Checkered prints add a tailored element.

Proportions have shifted, too. Some jackets retain their volume but are cropped, reflecting how younger consumers wear them now. The shorter length lets the layer underneath show, making the styling part of the design.

The collection looks back to a period when sportswear and streetwear were closely intertwined. Colorful nylon separates and sports jerseys recall the oversized styles when basketball and hip-hop gear became part of everyday fashion.

Cut-off denim shorts, including the flirty styles associated with TV character Daisy Duke, also return. Checkered polo shirts are cut boxier than the traditional fitted version, reflecting the current preference for square-cut, relaxed silhouettes. Manapat also points to an Asian preference for looser fits, giving the shape particular relevance to the local market.

Preppy dressing remains a Bench staple. Cardigans, vests, tennis skirts, and varsity jackets bring collegiate references into the mix, alongside the collection’s streetwear silhouettes.

Preppy dressing remains a Bench staple, with cardigans, vests, tennis skirts, and varsity jackets

Manapat also points to what he calls “kamison dressing,” in which silky camisoles traditionally worn as innerwear become visible outerwear. In Bench Originals, the camisole is treated as a garment in its own right.

The runway show extended the collection’s focus on young style through a cast drawn largely from the Philippine entertainment industry, with most of the participants coming from the country’s major television networks. Some were making their runway debuts.

Joshua Garcia was among the recognizable actors, while reality-show alumni Fyang Smith and JM Ibarra represented a younger generation moving into acting. The music lineup included G22, one of the country’s P-pop groups, singer-actor Kyle Echarri, and singer Kai Montinola, who also emerged from a reality show, along with young actor Dustin Yu. About 90 percent of the cast works in acting or music, reflecting Bench’s practice of bringing emerging talent together with more established names.

Bench Active
Pumped with an energetic spirit, Bench Active closed out the presentation as a fitting finale. Former star Ina Raymundo opened the show looking striking in a black bra top and a matching skirt over leggings, layered with a billowy skirt for dramatic flair and a mesh top that softly covered the midriff. Among the line-up, shirtless male models walked the runway wearing pants and boxer shorts crafted from a special performance material. Bookending the presentation as the ideal ambassador was Alden Richards. Wearing pieces straight from the shop, including a hooded jacket, a dry-fit tank top, and running shorts, Richards embodies the collection because of his fitness activities such as CrossFit, mountaineering, and ball sports. As creative consultant Noel Manapat notes, Richards is a dedicated athlete who sleeps early so he can train for endurance, running and cycling regularly.

Bench Active offers everyday workout and athletic wear, featuring collections for training as well as trending sports like pickleball and tennis. Manapat explains that wellness has become a major part of modern life. This cultural shift is highlighted by the massive success of the brand’s hybrid games combining power and endurance tests akin to Hyrox, alongside a regularly active running club. Another major hybrid event is scheduled for November at Space@One Ayala, where nearly 1,000 slots sold out in just one week. Because athletic clothing now features practical qualities that make it useful for daily life, it is no longer restricted to the gym.

The brand’s performance fabrics have evolved past traditional dry-dry materials to incorporate lightweight breathability, high stretch, moisture-wicking, and odor control. Practical construction details include elastic waistbands, secure bonded seams, and functional pockets for phones and keys. The lineup includes shorts with built-in compression support and versatile pants featuring convertible zippers that allow the wearer to transform them into shorts. While the runway styling mixed in editorial touches such as billowy skirts, heels, and boots, the core clothing remained authentic to Bench Active, proving that activewear is a vital fixture of contemporary style. Most people will remember the beefcakes in the Bermudas and jogging pants.