Three Filipino designers presented their collections at Shibuya’s Hikarie Hall during Tokyo Fashion Week.

At Tokyo Fashion Week, the Philippines took center stage as the Bench Design Awards returned to the international calendar with a highly anticipated showcase. Three Filipino designers, Steph Verano, Peter Garde, and Karl Nadales, unveiled their collections at Shibuya’s Hikarie Hall, bringing together ideas of identity, craftsmanship, and storytelling that contributed to the global conversation of contemporary fashion.

“Bench Design Awards is our platform to discover new talent locally and hopefully bring them to awareness both locally and globally,” says Bench creative consultant Noel Manapat. The designers had been chosen from twelve finalists in Manila earlier this year, with their collections expanded and refined for Tokyo. Unlike previous Philippine presentations in Japan that emphasized traditional dress, this edition gave freedom to the designers to define themselves. “Our brief to them is really to just define their vision through their collection,” Manapat explained. “This one is an exploration more of designers’ visions that are contemporary and modern and relatable, and that I think a lot of the audience said they can imagine themselves into.” For him, the showcase confirmed the strength of the country’s creative talent. “It was a good introduction of what Philippine fashion is now and what it can contribute to the world.”

Peter Garde, Ben Chan, Steph Verano, and Karl Nadales. Courtesy of BENCH

Karl Nadales

Karl Nadales presented “A-17,” a collection that examined migration as both an intimate and collective journey. His designs layered fabrics and forms in ways that suggested transition, displacement, and resilience. Volumes shifted and folded like shifting borders, while muted tones evoked the passage of time and distance. Each look carried a sense of adaptation, clothes that appeared in motion, as though shaped by travel and change. Nadales, who trained through FAB Creatives and now apprentices under a senior designer, has made identity central to his practice. In Tokyo, A-17 became a study of how movement alters belonging, turning fabric into a meditation on memory and transformation.

Karl Nadales. Courtesy of BENCH

Karl Nadales. Courtesy of BENCH

Peach Garde

Peter Garde presented “Sea-scape,” a collection infused with youthful spontaneity. “I thought of a group of friends who came from a beach, a short beach escapade, so they had fun, and now they’re ready to go home from the quick escapade,” he said. His pieces used inside-out seams, macramé, and cutouts to mimic waves and jellyfish movement. “The collection was inspired by sea elements, especially the jellyfish, and I made some pieces that mimic the movement of a jellyfish,” he explained. Garde also brought Filipino traditions into the mix. “Aside from highlighting the craftsmanship of the Filipino, I incorporated in my collection the Filipino barong… and also I have a terno with macramé embellishments to represent the Filipino clothing.” Based in Iloilo, where he also teaches menswear, Garde described Tokyo as a defining experience. “Oh my god, that’s a great experience, since it’s my first out-of-the-country trip, and it’s in Tokyo.”

Peach Garde. Courtesy of BENCH

Peach Garde. Courtesy of BENCH

Steph Verano

For her submission, Steph Verano showcased “Cast 2.0,” an evolution of her earlier Manila collection inspired by archival images of fisherfolk and maritime workwear. “The starting point of the collection was a collage of vintage photographs of fisherfolk,” she said. While she did not deliberately include Filipino iconography, she acknowledged that her identity shapes her design. “I did not consciously incorporate any aspect of Filipino culture. However, being Filipino, I think these influences will naturally come through when I design and make things.” Showing in Tokyo, she added, was “very gratifying… and at the same time humbling.”

Steph Verano. Courtesy of BENCH

Steph Verano. Courtesy of BENCH