“During the pandemic, I was making ethnic-inspired face masks under the name Fil Mask, which came from “‘Filipiniana Mask,’” said Ani Atanacio, designer behind @fildogscarf. “Since our family has been in the traditional barong and Filipiniana business for generations, I wanted to create something of my own while still carrying that heritage.”

Ani explains that as part of a third-generation creator in her family of Filipiana designers, she wanted to start her turn at the line by creating something Filipino yet unique.

“I started by giving Filipiniana a more modern interpretation — something that would differentiate my work from our family’s traditional business,” she said. “Eventually, I had the idea of bringing that same concept to pets. I thought, why not make Filipiniana for them, too?”

Thus began fildogscarf. It was Ani’s way of continuing her family’s Filipino fashion heritage, but for a completely new generation and market — furbabies and their humans.

“I’m the third generation of our family’s Filipiniana business,” Ani shares. “My family is one of the pioneers in the barong business in Divisoria, and I literally grew up there — Divisoria was my playground. After college, I worked in our family business while studying fashion, then eventually started selling Filipiniana online and opened my own stores in Pampanga and Divisoria.”

A pandemic like no other

When Covid-19 hit, the Atanacios hit rock bottom. So hard was the family hit by the pandemic that Ani had only P2,500 left in her bank account. The family struggles began.

“So, to keep myself busy, I started sewing reusable ethnic-inspired face masks.” Ani called it Fil Mask.

“I reached out to celebrities, and surprisingly, people like Alex Gonzaga, Gretchen Barretto, Tintin Babao, Pia Guanio and others supported me,” Ani said. “Soon, Filipinos from all over the world started supporting the brand, too, and that helped me get back on my feet.”

Enter the pets

“It was a scarf client from Germany who inquired if I could make a dog scarf that would match the face mask I was making for her. It was a challenge accepted and also the beginning of a new business in pet accessories for me.

“It is funny because I did not even have a pet at the time,” shared Ani. “But, the pet scarves caught on and it was the start of a new line. And, it was also the start of a love affair I had the my first pet Niana — named after Filipiniana.”

It was from there that she started to design pet clothes, but in keeping with her family tradition of Filipiana she made her Filipiniana outfits for her dog customers.

Ani shares that today she gets inspiration from barongs, Filipiniana sleeves, embroidery, alampay and even modern fashion trends.

“Sometimes I see a human design and immediately think, ‘How can I make a pet version of this?’” she shares.

But comfort always comes first. She considers the fabric, lining, movement, fur and fit because pets have very different needs than humans.

“I also get a lot of ideas from my customers,” she smiles. “Some of our designs actually started from special requests, just like how Fil Dog itself began with a customer asking for a matching pet scarf. I love listening to pet parents because sometimes their ideas inspire our next collection.”

The work of Ani has paid off wonderfully.

“Fil Dog came from a very difficult chapter of my life,” she muses. “But, eventually it brought me back to my roots. And gave me a new way to stay alive and keep my family’s Filipino family heritage alive, too.”