Pinoys embrace Aussie fashion

There is a man riding a large wave on the screen by the stage — I know I am in the right place. Australia, often associated with its laid-back surf lifestyle and Hollywood exports (thank you, Australia, for the Hemsworth brothers, Hugh Jackman, the late, great Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett), is also a place where fashion thrives.

At the Celebrate Australia 2015 fashion show held at Glorietta Activity Center, the culminating event of a month-long celebration of Australia Day, Aussie fashion brands BYS Cosmetics, Cotton On, Ever New, and Rip Curl took the stage, featuring clothes that are a perfect fit for our lifestyle. We have much in common, after all.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we take what we do and what we have to contribute seriously. There is a good synergy that works out in so many different areas,” says Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell on our nation’s similarities — apart from our love for beaches, sunsets and beer.

Fashion is not the only Australian industry that has found success in the Philippines. According to Anthony Weymouth, minister counsellor and senior trade commissioner, there are about 200 Australian companies in the Philippines and they employ over 15,000 Filipinos. “These companies wouldn’t come here unless they saw the value in working with the Philippines,” he says.

“We have a growing relationship of both commercial and human links. It sounds like jargon if you say it’s ‘broad and deep,’ but it is. The relationship between Australia and the Philippines is good — it covers a lot of areas and it covers those areas in great depth,” the Ambassador adds.

Celebrate Australia 2015 is a culmination of a month-long event in the Philippines, which included activities like the Awesome Australian Sale in partnership with Rustan’s Supermarket, the Mcquarie Charity Fun Run with Mcquarie Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Australia, and the 50th anniversary of the Australian International School in the Philippines.