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Fashion Week Asia: Novel’s True Colors Are Coming Through Beautifully

Two years after winning the MEGA Young Designers Competition, Novel’s Prince Padilla has grown more expressive than ever, with a colorful collection to show for it.

By Anya Oxyn 4 hours ago

The name Prince Padilla holds a special place in MEGA’s history. Back in 2024, he won the MEGA Young Designers Competition and introduced us to the imagination behind his label, Novel. He has since earned a place among Fashion Asia Hong Kong’s 10 Asian Designers to Watch, and now, at Fashion Week Asia 2026, we get to see how much he has grown.

“Experimentation is the core of Novel.”
—PRINCE PADILLA

This time around, Padilla’s use of color is what stands out the most. We can tell he’s having fun with it. We know his expertise lies in experimenting with silhouettes and construction, but it’s the brighter palette of greens, blues, and pinks, punctuated by intricate textures, that signals where he’s at emotionally. It lines up with what he previously said about being a reactive designer. The more we look, the more we recognize that the mind that first brought Novel to our attention is becoming even more expressive.

We can see his hand in his garments while still finding little surprises along the way. With a bigger world now opening up to him, Padilla continues to discover more. And what we’re seeing of Novel so far is coming through beautifully.

Photos courtesy of FASHION WEEK ASIA. Photographed by EXCEL PANLAQUE of KLIQ INC.

Anya Oxyn

Senior Fashion Writer

Formerly a stylist who immersed herself intimately within the Philippine fashion circuit for over three years, Anya has refined her transformative, hands-on experience into an insightful voice for MEGA Asia as a Senior Fashion Writer.

Her editorial pursuit possesses three facets: her time as an essayist during her education at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, her extensive experience in digital media and strategic storytelling, and her belief that fashion has a beating heart deeply intertwined with art, culture, society, and humanity itself that is worth uncovering.

Anya’s versatile pen spans a dynamic range of subjects, including emerging local designers, global luxury houses, beauty trends, film and television fashion analysis, cultural op-eds, major events, and beyond.

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