BTS Wore A Filipino Clothing Brand And We Only Found Out About It Now

BTS Wore A Filipino Clothing Brand And We Only Found Out About It Now

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BTS wore a Filipino brand to perform during their earlier days and now they’re reproducing the shirts for ARMYs everywhere.

Related: McDonald’s Shares the Love to Frontliners with the Brand-New BTS Meal

Filipino ARMY, listen up! It’s time to do our part as Filipinos and as ARMYs by supporting the two things we love: our country and our Bangtan Boys. You can do just that by checking out the pieces Proudrace, a sustainable Filipino clothing brand, made in memory of the time BTS wore their clothing. Don’t know what we’re talking about? Well, earlier last week, Proudrace surprised us with a bit of shocking information. Apparently, a few years ago the Bangtan Boys wore matching sweaters from a store that carried Proudrace. They matched the graphic sweater with compression leggings and shorts or joggers, which they topped off with cool pairs of kicks. To find out more about the story behind this unexpected collaboration, MEGAStyle talked to Patrick Bondoc and Rik Rasos of Proudrace to give us the low down.

MEGAStyle: What’s the story behind reprinting the shirts again?

Proudrace: When McDonalds released the BTS meal. We got really nostalgic and realized how far they have reached in their career. It also got us reminiscing about our struggles and how we worked so hard to establish our brand. We used to go to different countries just so we can offer the brand to multi label stores. We would go from store to store with our samples and our portfolio trying to get them to carry our brand. Also a friend convinced us to reprint it and we thought it would be fun for Filipino BTS fans to get something that their favorite boy group wore before.

MS: How was BTS able to get a hold of Proudrace?

PR: Until now, it’s still not clear where exactly their team picked it up. Around that time 4 stores sold that particular style in Asia, 2 stores in Japan, 1 store in Hong Kong, and 1 store in Singapore. And, all of them sold out their stocks. So, it’s not clear where it came from.

MS: At the time, did you think BTS would become as big as they are today?

PR: To be honest, I thought at that time they already have a huge fan base in Korea because a lot of people tagged us when they saw the boys in our clothes. And we were really excited because I remember around that time all the labels in the stores that we are being carried in had pieces that have been worn by other idol groups. And when BTS wore us, we were so happy. We felt like we fit in. And, they were also wearing a bunch of well know brands around that time, like KTZ and Pyrex (Virgil Abloh’s brand before Off White). So, it never occurred to us that they were not big before. They’ve always had that star quality.

MS: Given the chance to dress BTS again, what would you create for them?

PR: Definitely, putting them on our Mahal Kita shirt that would be tongue in cheek.

MS: How can Army fans get a hold of your Limited Edition shirts?

PR: They can go to our instagram page @proudrace and shop from there.

Now, BTS has signed with Louis Vuitton as their official ambassador for the menswear line by Virgil Abloh. They still wear different designer items and are considered one of the most influential figures in the fashion industry. With all this being said, we are so happy they were able to support and recognize a Filipino brand that has elevated the fashion scene with innovative designs. We hope to see the Bangtan Boys wear Proudrace again. Maybe this time, the Mahal Kita shirt? Here’s to hoping.

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