The new guard of Filipino fashion is here

Three young designers are pushing Filipino fashion into bolder, stranger and more personal territory as Yana Kalaw, Kill Joy Studios, and Lilah Roché bring queer glamour, Manila street energy and femme-fatale drama to MNL Fashion Week 2026.

The next wave of Filipino fashion isn’t interested in playing it safe.

At the second edition of the MNL Fashion Week 2026, the NXTGEN showcase, fringe swung, fur flew, silhouettes flirted with excess, and three emerging names made one thing clear: Future of Filipino fashion is personal, provocative and unapologetically bold.

Yana Kalaw: Femininity, turned all the way up

With “Girls, Girls, Girls,” Yana Kalaw pushes her signature femininity into full-volume mode and it’s giving “gay.”

Building on her 2025 Queer Notes collection, the designer turns up the flounces, fur, exposed stitching, and saturated color, creating silhouettes that feel playful, exaggerated and deliberately over the top.

The beauty direction followed suit: elongated brows, frosted lips and generous layers of blush brought a distinctly camp sensibility to the runway.

But beneath the glamour was a sharper statement. Words like “Tibo” and “Lesbyana,” once hurled at queer women as insults, were transformed into bold declarations. Michelle Dee opened the show in a sheer nude dress emblazoned with “Tibo.”

Kill Joy Studios: Manila rush, recut

If Metro Manila had a dress code, Eugene Malabad’s Kill Joy Studios might have cracked it.

His “Kalye Trez Mixtape” collection takes the brand’s commuter-couture DNA and gives it a fresh remix. Roped fringe becomes skirts and asymmetrical tops; bleach-dyed denim transforms into trenches and jumpsuits; statement bags complete the look.

Everything moves with the restless rhythm of the city.

Models hit the runway with the urgency of commuters racing for a jeepney or rushing to their next appointment. It’s chaotic, practical, and unmistakably Manila — but elevated into a streetwear language all its own.

Lilah Roché: Enter the Queenpin

Lilah Roché closed the showcase with “Sampaguita Queenpin,” a dark, seductive take on the Filipino action-film femme fatale.

Inspired by the noir heroes and villains she grew up watching, Roché imagines a woman who starts as a mysterious figure and rises into a full-blown queenpin.

The clothes follow her transformation. Sleek black silhouettes gradually become more commanding, with flashes of red adding a dangerous edge. Corsetry, cut-outs, and Roché’s signature paneling put the body front and center.

The result is sensual but never submissive — a wardrobe for the woman who walks into the room already in charge, with a little bit of Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” drama.