The North and South Courts of Power Plant Mall will be transformed into a tropical oasis, serving as the ideal backdrop for Artefino Resort 2025.
Visitors are invited to explore, discover, and integrate the best of Philippine fashion and resort wear into their year-long wardrobes.
It was in March 2023 when Artefino, an artisanal platform and incubator for local design talent, first mounted its summer pop up. Since then, founders Maritess Pineda, Mita Rufino, Cedie Lopez-Vargas, Susie Quiros and Marimel Francisco have continuously explored fresh new ideas of bringing a distinctly Philippine resort lifestyle to trade fair experience.
“Our tropical, eternal sunshine climate contributes to fueling the creativity of a lot of our designers and artisans. It has inspired them and it’s reflected in their designs as well as the material they use. We wanted to put brands that carry this essence at the forefront of our curation,” they say.
Exploring the many islands of the archipelago was a key idea that sparked inspiration for ArteFino Resort 2025. Marimel Francisco shares, “We have a total of 30 Filipino brands joining us for this year’s edition. Each one hails from different parts of the country that have distinct sets of fabrics, weaves, patterns and styles. As a general idea, we wanted to transport guests of the resort pop-up to all these beautiful regions of the country. We wanted to invite everyone to travel the Philippines through their senses.”
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Fashion and design, inspired by the country’s travel and resort lifestyle, will shape the Artefino Resort experience this year. “It’s summer all year round in the Philippines,” says Marimel. “This doesn’t only mean that every day is ideal for travelling around the country. Tropical weather also influences the way we dress as a people. In many ways, resort or summer dressing is innate to us. Our designers, artisans, makers, and brand owners are naturally inclined to use lightweight local weaves, vibrant colors, tropical-inspired patterns and ornaments that invoke year-long summers.”
For this year’s pop up, brands, designers, and makers will be presenting exclusive, capsule collections that embody the resort state of being. Natural tropical fibers, breathable fabrics that are indigenous to the Philippines are reimagined and reworked into contemporary garments that echo life on the island.
The process of curating a select number of partner vendors for the summer pop-up compelled the founders of ArteFino to ponder what Filipino fashion might look like through the lens of a global style community.
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It also furthered the conversation on circularity, highlighting and exploring the long-term use of Philippine-made resort-inspired garments. As they handpicked each brand and designer, the founders considered elements of design that reflected the resort lifestyle and Filipino style sensibility.
The founders observe, “Tropical resort living is characteristic of Philippine culture. You will see this in the easy silhouettes, the tropical color palettes, choice of breezy fabrics, and even the use of natural materials.”
This year, the pop up will occupy two key locations at Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall, ArteFino’s co-presenter and home since its inception. The North and South courts of the mall will be the venue for highlighting the exclusive capsule collections from Philippine contemporary fashion brands and designers.
True to celebrating eternal summers and vibrant resort lifestyle, there will also be happy hour in the afternoons with Three Hens Wine.
Artefino Resort happens from March 6 to 9 at Power Plant Mall. For more information, follow @artefinoph on Instagram or check out its website.
