Presenting some of the country’s fashion trailblazers, Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2023 will showcase their latest collections and collaborations with Suyen Corporation’s local and foreign brands.
Banking on the freshest fashion trends as we usher in the final phase of 2023, the latest edition of Bench Fashion Week will emphasize the colorful and vibrant spirit of the holiday season with the newest designer collections. Continuing the lively tradition of past Bench Fashion Week shows, BFW Holiday 2023 is poised to illuminate the runway with local craftsmanship, picturesque depictions of the natural world, elements from both past and present, the art of ethereal dressmaking, and an array of elevated couture and sartorial wonders.
BFW Holiday 2023 will showcase the most exciting collections and collaborations from some of the Philippines’ esteemed designers and artistic talents in the local fashion scene: Lucy Torres-Gomez, Lulu Tan-Gan, Renz Reyes, Abdul Gaffar, Raf Galang, Chris Nick, Mich Dulce, Bitto, and Big Boy Cheng’s Secret Fresh.
Lucy Torres-Gomez

Lucy Torres-Gomez
Evocative of her exquisite grace and demure stature, Lucy Torres-Gomez meticulously managed each piece and element of her latest collaboration with womenswear brand Kashieca. She thoughtfully considered the diverse needs and desires of contemporary women throughout the creative process.
In 2022, Lucy showcased an array of essential closet pieces from her previous collaboration collection with Kashieca on the BFW runway. These pieces embodied elegance and comfort, striking a balance between aesthetics and practicality. Regarded as one of the most beloved style icons in the local fashion scene, Lucy continues to flourish in her artistic pursuits, among the numerous ventures that bring her joy.
The latest offering from Kashieca x Lucy Torres-Gomez showcases an empowering collection of effortless day-to-day clothing pieces that women can wear regardless of their individual lifestyles and for any occasion. The collection includes tops, wrap dresses, skirts, and bottoms, all featuring a minimal design approach woven together with chic feminine embroidery and sleek elements.
Lulu Tan-Gan

Lulu Tan-Gan
Driven by the concept of staying relevant in the ever-evolving fashion landscape, Lulu Tan-Gan’s artistry centers around creating garments that resonate with and are embraced by women spanning generations. In 2007, she embarked on crafting garments using an indigenous Filipino hand-woven fabric, piña, infusing her brand with an authentic Filipino identity.
Over the years, Lulu Tan-Gan’s brand concept and distinctiveness, characterized as “travel-friendly and contemporary,” have consistently thrived through innovative applications of piña. She has demonstrated that this fundamental material can exude luxury and offer a soft and Bohemian style, all while being unlined and amenable to hand laundering.
Lulu Tan-Gan’s Indigenous Couture Collection draws inspiration from the delicate fusion of practical wear and Southern tribal elements. It boasts pieces that showcase the ethereal lightness, fluidity, and featherweight sheerness of piña, complemented by coarser and cruder materials.
Renz Reyes

Renz Reyes
Renz Reyes’ earnest passion for the arts has paved his way to various opportunities in the field of design. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Advertising Arts, and initially trained in advertising as a graphic designer and illustrator. Subsequently, he pursued education at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines, which propelled him to join different design competitions, including the Bench Design Awards 2018, where he was hailed as the grand winner.
In the same year, Renz also had the opportunity to showcase his collection at Amazon Tokyo Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2019, which was reviewed by Vogue Runway. With a focus on embroidery and textile design as his métier, he has been providing services to a variety of brands, and his works have been featured in various local and international publications.
Known for his inclination toward designing pieces that embody playful femininity with an artisanal edge, his collection called “Hortitorture” is a contemporary womenswear collection with interwoven menswear elements. The name is a fusion of two words: “horticulture” and “torture,” which permeate his designs through images depicting the cultivation of vegetation and plants. For Renz, he aims to showcase hyper-feminine and hyper-masculine elements in the clothes while subverting gender binary conventions.
Abdul Gaffar

Abdul Gaffar
Hailing from Iligan City, Abdul Gaffar is a Maranao designer who completed his dressmaking and fashion design studies at Slim’s Fashion and Arts School in 2015. A year after his educational journey, he became part of the team that created costumes for the local production of Firebird with Ballet Philippines, featuring designs by artist and fashion director Mark Lewis Higgins.
In 2020, he emerged as one of the 12 finalists of Ternocon, a biennial terno-making convention and contest spearheaded by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Bench (Suyen Corporation), and was awarded the Chief Mentor’s medal, selected by the chief mentor of the competition, Inno Sotto.
Abdul’s collection is a fusion of Filipiniana styles with tailoring aesthetics, incorporating elements evocative of the Maranaos of Mindanao. Locally woven materials, such as jusi or piña, typically used in barong, are paired with suiting materials to achieve a more contemporary look. The langkit, okir, landap, or malong motifs from the Maranaos also serve as inspiration for the details and overall appearance of the collection.
Raf Galang

Raf Galang
Raf Galang began his career as a fashion designer and stylist in 2006. He unveiled his eponymous label, Rafglang, at Philippine Fashion Week in 2008. The subsequent year, he secured a spot among the final five contestants of the second season of Project Runway Philippines. His talent was elevated within the commercial landscape through his role as Mega Magazine’s fashion director from 2012 to 2014 and with the now-defunct L’Officiel Manila from 2014 to 2017.
With an unwavering focus on three key elements—reassemble, reengineer, and repurpose—the Rafglang brand has maintained its identity as a contemporary fashion brand that consistently generates diverse aesthetic representations through meticulous design formulation, highlighting structure, form, construction, and function.
Rafglang’s second collection, “No. 2,” serves as a comprehensive exploration of suits and military attire. This collection brings about a transformation of traditional men’s tailored blazers and tactical trousers, reshaping them into a collection of functional women’s garments crafted from materials like denim, canvas, twill, wool, and leather. The color scheme exudes a harmonious and subdued ambiance, featuring shades such as neo black, cocoa, oxblood, stone gray, fatigue, and bone.
Chris Nick

Chris Nick
Chris Nick delos Reyes is a Manila-based fashion designer whose creations have graced numerous fashion shows, notably the LA Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023, and have adorned the covers of 20 magazines since the establishment of his label in June 2019.
The essence of the Chris Nick brand resides in the fusion of sensuality and elegance. Chris firmly believes that garments must not overshadow the wearer, and therefore gravitates towards minimalistic and sleek designs, in favor of his favorite attire: the tuxedo.
Chris Nick’s featured collection reinterprets the designer’s affinity for pop culture nuances from a bygone era by seamlessly integrating past elements into contemporary times. For this iteration of Bench Fashion Week, Chris Nick hones in on three foundational aspects of his design philosophy: denim, the tuxedo, and western influences, often associated with the cowboy genre.
Mich Dulce

Mich Dulce
Mich Dulce is a British-trained milliner known for creating modern hats and headpieces using sustainable Filipino materials and traditional European techniques. She was recognized as the British Council’s International Young Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010 and showcased her contemporary millinery at London and Paris Fashion Week. Mich has collaborated with fashion figures like Marjan Pejoski and Jessica Ogden, and most recently, worked as assistant artistic director for Maison Michel Paris.
Her Mich Dulce label, launched in 2009, is sold globally and has been featured in 16 cities across four continents. Notable personalities, including Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, have worn her designs. In 2022, Mich introduced a new concept called Assemblage, focusing on sustainable and creative curation rather than seasonal collections. This approach allows her to revisit past designs and prioritize sustainable manufacturing.
Mich Dulce marks her return to clothing with her first fashion show in 15 years at Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2023, following more than a decade of focusing on millinery and corsetry. The collection draws inspiration from her initial Manila fashion show after training at Central Saint Martins and her participation in the Mega Young Designers Competition in 2010, highlighting the evolution of her design sensibilities and aesthetic.
Drawing from her fascination with the Amish and their dress codes, Mich Dulce employs a neutral palette and simple fabrics. These come to life through layers and drapes, complemented by her distinctive millinery made from T’nalak sourced from South Cotabato. Additionally, this collection introduces latex clothing into her repertoire, aligning with her values of sustainability. The juxtaposition of polished rubber and locally sourced piña fabric showcases her voluminous and feminine approach to design.
Bitto

Bitto
Bitto is an artist, painter, and muralist with a background in illustration and design. He employs graphic, figurative representation, text, and abstractions to delve into personal narratives within his works. His paintings feature a recurring cast of characters situated in encapsulated moments, portraying intimate and recognizable scenes from everyday life. These works focus on seemingly inconsequential circumstances and quieter experiences in daily existence.
Bitto finds inspiration in nature, his love of textiles, Japanese fashion magazines, patterns, hand-painted signage, and ephemeral graphics. His use of color is significantly influenced by his involvement with streetwear and spray paint. His characters have taken on a life of their own, leading to exhibitions and events in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, New York, and collaborations with notable clients such as Nike, GCash, Fjallraven, and WeWork.
Bitto’s showcased collaboration collection with Bench captures a surge of nostalgia evoked by the Y2K era at the outset of a vibrant new decade. Its overarching aesthetics center around the notion of retro-futurism, imbuing the collection with a youthful and audacious imagination. Bitto’s creations will be enhanced by elaborate and vibrant hairstyles, glistening attire, and substantial accessories and footwear, alongside striking colors that boldly juxtapose with other garments.
Bigboy Cheng (Secret Fresh)

Big Boy Cheng
Christian Robert “Bigboy” Cheng takes his cue for venturing into the business world from his ardent passion for art. Known for his ultra-rare collections of sneakers and streetwear, Bigboy Cheng is a master in weaving the varied elements of art and the intricate aspects of fashion, as evident in his lifestyle brand Secret Fresh.
For this season of BFW, Secret Fresh is poised to ignite the runway with pieces which emphasize diverse elements of art interwoven with unorthodox fashion expressions. They will showcase fresh styles on apparel, accessories, and everything in between that are unique yet designed for everyone. Secret Fresh has transformed from being a brand with a niche toy market to an influential hub for fashion, art, and pop culture.
Proudly Suyen
In addition to the collections of the aforementioned designers and collaborators, BFW Holiday 2023 will also showcase the latest collections from some of Suyen Corporation’s most cherished brands, such as Urban Revivo, American Eagle Outfitters, MLB, and Human.

Urban Revivo
Urban Revivo, the premium international fashion brand, presents its Fall/Winter 2023 Collection inspired by shifting landscapes and supernatural phenomena. The clothing patterns exemplify the reorganization of natural elements and colors, capturing the essence of the season. The collection also highlights its utilization of linen-cotton and lyocell fabrics for menswear pieces, enhancing comfortable and stylish outfits with exquisite textures.

American Eagle Outfitters
In celebration of its 10th anniversary in the Philippines, American Eagle Outfitters, an American clothing and accessories brand, will be showcasing a special assortment of designs that adhere to quintessential American essentials, including denim pieces like jeans and bottoms. The presentation will demonstrate how classic styles can be updated with contemporary flair, featuring combinations of graphic tees, polos, and resort shirts.

MLB
The South Korean premium lifestyle brand MLB will introduce the quintessential American sports lifestyle with 150 years of tradition to the Filipino runway through its diverse collection of colorful streetwear pieces. The brand inaugurated its debut store in the Philippines in August at SM Mall of Asia and its second branch at SM Aura in September.

Human
Suyen Corporation’s streetwear brand Human will showcase a diverse range of textures, colors, and styles in its Manga and Denim collections at this season’s BFW. The Manga Collection highlights bold graphic tees and accessories inspired by Japanese comic elements. Additionally, a new denim collection places emphasis on a seamless blend of aesthetics and quality.
Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2023 will run from September 22 to 24, 2023 at The Playground, The Bench Tower in BGC, Taguig City.