Young PH designers make their mark through personalized fabric

Textile customization has become a bigger part of the industry’s creative process, and designers are now capitalizing on digital textile printing to express themselves through the very fabric that form their garments.

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Trying their hand at integrating fabric textile design into an entire collection, the premier batch of graduates from the Institute of Creative Entrepreneurship, Fashion, Arts, Design (ICEFAD) showcased a five-piece collection at ICEFAD’s grand launch and first graduation show held at Shangri-La Plaza. During the launch, 11 young designers presented their pieces for the following categories: Sustainable-Retail, Sculptural Art, Menswear, Fabric Textile Design, and Red Carpet.

For its Fabric Textile Design category, ICEFAD partnered with Epson Philippines to provide its students firsthand experience with printing their custom fabric through a dye sublimation printer. One of ICEFAD’s new graduates, Austeen Soriano (Maison Soriano), showcased his love for the ocean through a vibrant outerwear which stood out and bagged the graduation show’s award for Best in Fabric Textile Design.

As a designer, Soriano wants the people wearing his pieces to have a glimpse of his own experiences. Inspired by his love for the sea, this vision was showcased in his collection called Ang Layag or The Maiden Voyage. 

Soriano’s winning Fabric Textile Design piece, a white layered jacket with unique pleats that mimic sea waves, including the designs from 10 other ICEFAD graduates, were printed using Epson’s SureColor SC-F6270 dye sublimation printer. 

“Through digital textile printing, I was able to showcase the essence of my collection which is the sea. I love the sea, and the prints helped me show its depths and layers—may it be from what we see above or below it,” said Soriano. 

For Soriano, digital textile printers provide limitless possibilities and give designers the creative freedom to turn their ideas into reality. Whether a simple or complex graphic pattern, digital printing opens doors for designers to bring their art to life on fabric through simplified operations.

“Epson’s digital textile printer made it easier for us to make our garments. All our fabric’s patterns were just sketched by hand and having them printed out gave the extra vibe and impact on our designs. We were also amazed at how the printer can cater to fabrics that are difficult to manipulate. With Epson’s digital textile printers, the only limit is your creativity,” added Soriano.

ICEFAD’s graduation show, titled CREATE – Redefining the Business of Fashion, champions the institution’s vision of developing entrepreneurial skills for its students by integrating business courses with technical “concept-to-production” programs.

“ICEFAD was founded in 2017 but we decided to hold the grand launch this year to prove that our institution’s concept works,” said ICEFAD CEO Monina Tan-Santiago.

Among the featured up and coming fashion designers were Blessed Almario, Camilla Damo, Lare Dane, Joe Figueroa, Alexandre Franco, Isabel Laohoo, Saintè Marion, Clarice Melagrito, Diane Salamanque, Maison Soriano, and Leilani Kate Yalung.

Aside from winning Best in Fabric Textile Design, Maison Soriano also bagged the top award for the men’s wear category. Diane Salamanque, on the other hand, won the award for Best in Red Carpet. Blessed Almario was the night’s biggest winner as she took home awards for Best in Sculptural Art, Sustainable Retail, and the coveted Best Collection.

“We are glad to be part of the journey of ICEFAD and these young designers as they redefine the fashion industry,” said Eduardo Bonoan, Epson Philippines General Manager for Marketing. “Through superior print quality, speed, at affordable running costs, our dye sublimation printers are ready to bring more remarkable designs to life on fabric for upcoming Filipino fashion designers.”

Epson aims to change commercial and industrial trends in the fashion industry through innovative but simple solutions that deliver high productivity and reduced environmental footprint. As more and more brands move towards sustainability, Epson leads the shift from conventional to sustainable green fashion with the flexible, customizable, efficient and eco-friendly benefits of digital textile printing.