The comeback of the MEGA Young Designers Competiton is a resounding call to the future of fashion innovators and disrupters
On the pivotal evening of November 28 amidst the reunion of friends and family in Spritz Makati, a revelation electrified the room. Fashion luminaries, indebted to art and design, held their breath, awaiting the transformative call that defined their journeys. Their voice, after all, is a valuable asset, asserting influence and authority. On this night, we celebrate the grand comeback of the MEGA Young Designers Competition, the Philippines’ inaugural fashion design battleground—a continuum of MEGA’s influential legacy where the next winner will be given a design apprenticeship, a cash prize worth PHP 1,000,000, a PHP 1 million-worth media mileage on both print and digital, and a slot at the 2024 BYS Fashion Week.
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For over three decades, spearheaded by visionary founder Sari Yap, MEGA has transcended the traditional confines of a fashion magazine. Beyond glossy pages, we champion Filipino fashion that is inspirational, aspirational, and authoritative. Today, MEGA isn’t merely a magazine; it’s a lifestyle. Rewriting norms, erecting platforms, and unearthing the future’s trailblazers, MEGA stands as a transformative force.
To start off the evening, Head of Publishing and Marketing Janine Recto and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Galicia extend a warm welcome to the esteemed guests. Afterward, Editor-in-Chief Peewee Reyes-Isidro takes the spotlight, celebrating the collective journey. “Tonight, we convene with the industry’s most brilliant disruptors of Filipino fashion,” she opens. “Over the years, your contributions have molded MEGA into what it stands as today—a wellspring of talent and a nurturing platform for emerging creatives to flourish.”
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The attendance boasted victors and contenders of past seasons of the Young Designers Competition: Rajo Laurel, Santi Obcena, Chris Diaz, Patrice Ramos Diaz, Russell Villafuerte, and Alex Pigao. They have inspired a multitude of other creatives, such as those standing in solidarity including Mark Bumgarner, Patty Ang, Raf Villas, Renz Reyes, Joey Samson, Ha.Mü, Antonina, RJ Santos, Anthony Ramirez, Martin Bautista, Nat Manilag, Vin Orias, and Francis Libiran. Together, they forged a community of true Filipino talent.
The MEGA Young Designers Competition aims to find new designers worthy of prominence and amplification; designers whose voice fills with ambition, dedication, and distinction. A voice that could break barriers, inspire connections that bridge diverse perspectives; smash the glass ceiling, aspiring to change with every uttered idea; and disrupt the status quo, authorizing in an era where innovation becomes the heartbeat of change and where the ripples of creativity reverberate far beyond the conventional confines of the landscape. A voice that could be yours.
Photography: EXCEL PANLAQUE, ED SIMON, and TIMOTHY DUENAS
