It’s the men’s turn this year at the MaArte Fair, a lifestyle exhibition-cum-fundraising event of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. that showcases unique Filipino craftsmanship to benefit the National Museum.
The MaArte Fair will be held at The Gallery on the third floor of The Peninsula Manila on Aug. 10-12.
For its tenth year, MFPI’s annual fundraising event will highlight the role of men in our lives by curating the “Pinoy Man Cave” collection. It will offer men’s apparel and accessories crafted by local designers such as Len Cabili’s Filip+Inna, Jojie Lloren for La Herminia Piña, Creative Definitions, Balay ni Atong, Natalya Lagdameo, and Tweetie de Leon Gonzales.
Albert Avellana, president of MFPI, said the move to invite exhibitors offering unique finds for men was due to an observation that most of the men who attended previous fairs ended up holding shopping bags for their partners.
“We will make it worthwhile for them when they accompany their wives and girlfriends to the fair this year,” said Avellana.
The women, of course, can enjoy the three-day event checking out the diverse selection of jewelry, apparel, home décor, fragrances, and accessories offered by exhibitors such as Arañaz Bags, Two Chic, Beyond Borders, and Oscar Mejia Fragrances.
Alongside the bazaar, MFPI will also hold MaArte Talks, a series of talks with select business owners who can provide new entrepreneurial tips and insights.
What to expect at the MaArte Fair 2018:
100% Philippine cotton scarves
Creative Definitions will flaunt its 100 percent Philippine cotton scarves and shorts chiefly made for men in this year’s MaArte Fair.
Aside from offering first-rate handwoven products to the local market, the brand pools its efforts to create an advocacy that aims to provide livelihood for the weaving communities in Negros.
In 2016, co-founder Mike Claparols collaborated with Kabankalan weavers to enhance the community’s marketing industry and to persuade weavers to go back to using cotton.
“Although they were set up three years prior, we decided to help them out because they needed marketing assistance in their products. Our main advocacy is to influence them to start using natural fibers, specifically cotton,” Claparols told Manila Standard.
Claparols also mentioned that cotton used to be the fiber traditional weavers worked on, but with the scarcity of material in the previous decades, weavers have switched to synthetic threads.
“The only problem is that, 30 years ago, the polyester came in from China and there was a shift because it is much cheaper and stronger,” he said.
While it is essential to keep the culture and craft of the traditional Negrense weaving alive, Claparols shared that they motivate their weavers to produce entirely new designs.
“We’re training them to become more open and we share them the latest color palettes and trends in the market so that they can come up with their own creative designs,” he added.
Upcycled genuine leather bags
Lori Almario’s Cosimo Leathersmiths will feature its handmade bags upcycled from genuine leather cuttings and vintage leather jackets.
Almario combined the knowledge handed down from the eight-decade history of Gregorio family in leather crafting with her expertise in fabric to establish Cosimo in May 2018.
“I really grew up with shoes because my family established Gregg shoes 20 years ago. Aside from that, I was in the garments industry for 12 years in the United States. I combined both of that and came up with this,” she said in an exclusive interview.
The brand also prides itself in employing Filipino craftsmen and in inspecting and restoring the leather to keep the materials in top-notch quality.
“We want everybody to be aware how our environment is being affected by everything that goes into the trash since the garments industry, specifically the fashion industry, is probably one of the biggest contributors of pollution,” added Almario.
