Manila FAME is one of the premier platforms of design in the country. Now on its 65th edition, the notable bi-annual event organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) promotes a wide range of excellent and outstanding locally made products for the global market. Through the decades, CITEM, being an arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, has successfully and consistently triumphed in showcasing the best craftsmanship of Filipinos as seen in furniture, home furnishings, holiday gifts and decor, and fashion clothing and accessories.
Year after year, new names and brands arise to introduce innovation, development and relevant design to the globally acclaimed exhibition. Manila FAME has catapulted many Filipino brands to the international stage — from furniture to fashion. It has become an avenue of opportunities for both small and big-scale manufacturers, suppliers and artists toward the global landscape.
On the creative aspect, it has become an inspiration to industries to move forward. Manila FAME’s platform, with its visionary objectives to thrive in excellence, has become a stalwart in design evolution. Year after year, brands continue to push the envelope and progressively showcase products of global competence. The optimistic direction is to create a holistic approach that will hopefully instigate and result in mass design profusion. In effect, it uplifts the morale of every participant and continuously motivates the pursuit of product perfection.
Manila FAME is a visual form of education. For the youth, it is a treasure of homegrown products, made into masterpieces. The showcase introduces, and cultivates awareness of, the brilliance of the Filipino. We are a nation of outstanding creativity and talent and we are gifted with bountiful natural resources that can produce wonders.
In fashion, through Manila Wear, both seasoned and new designers use local materials to create distinct modern creations. It supports local designers and promotes them to potential international buyers. This season, the exhibition showcases indigenous fabrics from Abra, MindanaOne Fashion (a group that promotes southern textile transformed into dresses by Davao designers) and products of Great Women (an entrepreneurial effort to build sustainable livelihood all over the country).
For the Filipino, Manila FAME is an insight to the future. It showcases progressive development in the export industry and the Pinoy artist’s capacity to reach the world. Most of all, Manila FAME gives us countless reasons why we should love local. Photos by LUIS ESPIRITU JR. and BEA CONCEPCION
(Catch Manila FAME’s last day today, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.)