MNL Fashion Week 2026 is almost here, and soon, its runways will offer a glimpse into where Filipino fashion is headed next. It’s an exciting place to find yourself as a designer. It’s also very easy to look at someone at this point in their career and forget that they once had no idea whether they’d ever get here.
Creative careers rarely offer much certainty in the Philippines. There isn’t always a clear next move or an obvious measure of whether you’re doing well. You might be juggling another job while trying to get your own thing off the ground or watching everyone online appear to get ahead of you. Even what you love can become exhausting.
So, ahead of MNL Fashion Week 2026, MEGA asked its designers a question for anyone having one of those days: What kept you going?
RJ Santos of RANDOLF
RANDOLF started on the side for RJ Santos. Fresh from the University of the Philippines, he began the brand as a passion project with a clear direction in mind. With few responsibilities attached to it at first, he could develop the label alongside part-time and full-time jobs. RANDOLF ultimately became self-sustaining enough for Santos to make it his sole occupation.
“I guess what keeps me going now is that, aside from this being my passion, I have people who depend on the jobs that RANDOLF provides,” he shares with MEGA. “It adds fuel to my already burning passion.”
Nicolo Perez of NICOLÒ
If you’ve ever looked at another creative’s career and wondered why yours isn’t happening as quickly, Nicolo Perez knows the habit. “There were definitely moments when I questioned whether I was moving fast enough or doing enough, especially when you’re constantly seeing what everyone else is achieving,” he says.
The NICOLÒ designer learned to pay less attention to where he thought he should be and focus instead on consistently showing up for his craft. Through each collection, mistakes became lessons.
“I genuinely love making clothes and creating something that didn’t exist before,” Perez explains. Returning to that simple enjoyment has helped him through the more overwhelming parts of his profession. “Being able to show at MNL Fashion Week now feels like one of those moments where I can look back and see how all those small steps eventually became something much bigger.”
As he’s come to understand it, progress comes from choosing to continue even when you can’t be certain where each decision will take you. He’d rather young creatives give themselves permission to develop at their own pace, refine their voices along the way, and remain open to wherever the process leads. “You don’t need to have everything figured out immediately.”
Nina Amoncio of ANTONINA
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Nina Amoncio has a simple rule for surviving the industry: be someone people actually want to work with. “I’ve always believed in treating everyone with the same level of respect, regardless of their position or status,” the ANTONINA designer emphasizes. “For me, kindness and professionalism go a long way.”
Amoncio stays grounded by showing up and paying attention to how she treats others in a field where paths can cross again. “You never know who you’ll meet again, where they’ll end up, or how a simple interaction can turn into an opportunity somewhere down the line.”
Things don’t always go according to plan, either. Rather than letting setbacks discourage her, she concentrates on doing her part while remaining open to what might come next. “You don’t always have to be the loudest or the most established person in the room,” she adds. “Keep creating, keep learning, be respectful, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. The rest takes time.”
Jan Charlotte of CHARLOTTE FOLK
Those in CHARLOTTE FOLK’s orbit have given Jan Charlotte plenty of reasons to move forward. “We draw so much inspiration from the people who support Charlotte Folk, and we always try our best to listen to them and take their feedback (or) suggestions into consideration,” she reveals. “Knowing that people connect with what we create and continue to grow with us is something that keeps us inspired.”
She also simply loves what she does. Charlotte credits her team for sharing that enthusiasm, while her own motivation comes from everything she has experienced in developing the label.
Her advice for a young creative is appropriately unfussy: start small, stay curious, and make the next thing. “Your perspective is what makes your work yours, and sometimes the things that feel very local or personal can resonate far beyond where you started,” she notes. Learning to trust that evolution takes time, as does finding your footing in the industry.
Lilah Roché
Lilah Roché knows what it’s like to lose her way artistically. “I was lost in the creative industry. Making without meaning,” she admits of where she was two years ago. By then, she had experienced major wins alongside competition rejections and failures she says nearly cost her career. At one point, she believed she no longer had control over her designs.
When an opportunity to change course presented itself, Roché went all in. “It was financially draining and physically exhausting,” she admits. Her Museum of Thoughts collection followed, which she credits with giving both herself and her brand the creative establishment she had been trying to rebuild.
If she could visit the version of herself deciding whether to take that risk, she jokes that she would secretly appear in her own dreams to tell herself what’s about to happen. “Maybe I’ll forget about it when I wake up and still make that decision,” Roché adds. Whichever way it might have gone, she’s ready for her MNL Fashion Week chapter.
Yana Kalaw
“I think it’s just the itch to just create and show it to the world,” Yana Kalaw reflects. “There’s so much to say that I can’t express with words that I feel like I could only express through my art.”
Young, experimental, and vivid, Kalaw says bringing clothes she loves to life makes her feel alive. Her garments exude a sense of joy that can be seen from afar. It’s almost hard to believe that she once doubted herself because sketching wasn’t her strongest suit. Still, Kalaw perseveres, armed with her vision and steadfast nature. “It’s good to keep dreaming, but in order for it to be possible, you have to put the work in and keep believing in your designs—because you should be your number one supporter.”
Yong Davalos of YONG STUDIO
“I’ve always been in the middle of everything,” Yong Davalos ponders. “I can be dreaming about a collection one minute, then thinking about production, my team, numbers, or how we’re actually going to sell it the next.”
Running YONG STUDIO has prompted Davalos to question how much creative ego needs to enter the equation. She began asking herself who she was really making clothes for and who would get to live in them.
“If I was only creating for the creative world, the brand wouldn’t survive,” she notes. “There’s a much bigger environment outside of that, with people of different tastes, bodies, lifestyles, and choices. I wanted to invite them into my world too, without losing what makes the work mine. Maybe that’s what has kept me curious all these years. Finding that little space between dreaming and reality, and constantly learning how to make the two meet. I think creativity gives a business its soul, but understanding people is what allows it to keep living.”
Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki of HA.MÜ
Throughout HA.MÜ’s journey, Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki credit their “invisible support systems” with giving them room to evolve. “I think what kept us going was really the people around (us) and the belief that there was still something worth building,” they share. “Building a creative career in the Philippines can be challenging, especially when you’re constantly figuring things out as you go, but (we’ve) learned that you don’t always need to have everything figured out. You just need to keep moving.”
For young creatives, they encourage patience with their own development instead of expecting it to resemble anyone else’s. And for those still trying to get an idea off the ground, Guardian and Oki offer a gentler measure of progress: “Sometimes, just continuing to make the work you believe in is already an achievement.”
MNL Fashion Week 2026 runs from September 3 to 6, 2026, at the SMX Convention Center at SM Aura Premier.
Frequently Asked Questions
MNL Fashion Week 2026 runs from September 3 to 6, 2026, at the SMX Convention Center at SM Aura Premier, showcasing Filipino designers including RANDOLF, NICOLÒ, ANTONINA, CHARLOTTE FOLK, and YONG STUDIO.
Designers cite different sources of motivation: RJ Santos of RANDOLF points to the people whose jobs depend on his brand, Nina Amoncio of ANTONINA emphasizes kindness and professionalism, and Lilah Roché credits taking creative risks despite financial and physical exhaustion.
Museum of Thoughts is the collection Lilah Roché created after a period of feeling artistically lost, following major wins alongside competition rejections. She credits it with helping rebuild both her creative direction and her brand.
Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki are the designers behind HA.MÜ, who credit their “invisible support systems” and the belief that something was still worth building for keeping them going through the challenges of a creative career in the Philippines.
Designers advise patience and self-trust: Jan Charlotte of CHARLOTTE FOLK says to start small and stay curious, Nicolo Perez of NICOLÒ says you don’t need everything figured out immediately, and Yana Kalaw urges creatives to be their own biggest supporter.
