This must be the place

Observe closely while traversing the huddle of unremarkable grey buildings along Pasong Tamo Extension, and your eye will find itself drawn to something peculiar. Slapped onto the corner of another otherwise nondescript structure is a bright, glowing green ring; stark in contrast to the sea of colorless tiles that surrounds the rest of the buildings exterior. This double-take inducing effect is precisely the kind of impression that Green Sun’s newly minted SOMA Stores leaves you with.

Taking up major floor space in the as-yet-to-be-launched hotel’s first storey, SOMA offers burgeoning designers a unique platform and introduction into the local fashion industry. Retail manager Alex Lizares explains that the concept is “to help emerging brands build a sustainable business. To eventually produce more, expand, and all together push forward to slowly pull the market away from bigger international fast-fashion brands.”

Aside from providing an avenue for exposure, the incubation space sees itself as a movement to help foster a sense of community among creative, young entrepreneurs. This explains the diversity in SOMA’s inaugural roster of pop-up style booths.

Established cult faves like Proud Race and OS Accessories share a floor plan with rookies like Salad Day and Randolf. Even fresh grad and student-run businesses like Basic Movement and Ursus et Cervus get to try their hand at an actual brick and mortar retail space. All operating under the same roof, each individual brand develops its distinct business model and identity, while still learning and growing as a collective.

I ask one of the retailers if they know everybody yet and they say no, they haven’t quite gotten the chance. But you have to imagine that eventually, over a couple of beers when the bar is up and running, in the belly of this beautiful, unopened hotel, anything could happen.

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SOMA Stores is in Green Sun, 2285 Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati, open 1 to 9 p.m., Monday to Sunday.

Photos by Ralph Mendoza, Styled by Sam Potenciano, Modeled by Akiko Abad and Arion Pennington