In Naga City, Bicol Region, where typhoons come and go faster than fashion trends do, mapping a distinct, singular, and regional fashion identity will often be a predicament. We’re not as eloquent as our Ilonggo and Cebuano designer neighbors who, over the last decade, have successfully birthed a fashion language that could rival imperial Manila and, in many cases, European cities.

Naga City’s style scene–proliferated with the usual chiffon trenches, heavily pelletized, queenly pageant ensembles, and Ninang dresses worn by church-going Titas–will always be staples within a fashion economy peppered by pasadya modistas and local, seasoned couturiers. Fast fashion on the other hand receives a welcome tempering thanks to thrifting or, in anti-high street reportage, ukay-ukay.

At its center, we ask: in a region that would prioritize its push for the local economy to grow beyond the fences of poverty, improvement in weather-related disaster response, and address a growing diaspora among its youth, is it even possible to talk about Fashion?

The unveiling of the Jaq Hernandez x Bidibidi collaboration at the Avenue Plaza Hotel one evening in May of 2022 proved it is possible. (One would probably think the pieces deserve a more palatial venue, but the folksy vibe of the location lent a quaint eye to them. After all, Avenue Plaza is the mother of Naga’s growing gentrified lifestyle scene in the mid-2000s.)

SLIM’s-trained Jaq Hernandez opened the show and shared with the audience visions of her masterful menswear tailoring by way of Dior, Westwood, McQueen, Kawakubo, and (Cristobal) Balenciaga. Exaggerated, extra-strong shoulders on quilted jackets and kimonos with an industrial sheen paired with skirts or draped trousers walked strong and layered very well. It was steampunk orientalia minus the dystopia: fabrics such as lace, jersey, silk, tulle, and pops of hot pinks added the softness. It was menswear but not entirely: it was a collection of non-binary pieces that celebrate the movement, the mood, and the moment, more than the “man.”

An ethereal, cathedral-like silence blanketed the room when the womenswear collections took the spotlight. Besides an obvious homage to the region’s bet for the 2022 Presidential elections with hand-shaped rosettes on bomber jackets or draped under a pouf skirt, it’s a well-versed study on the possibilities of Filipiniana treading the line between daywear and eventwear. Local weaves from Buhi, Baao, and Partido were utilized alongside evening staples such as mikado silk, jacquard and gazar.

But Jaq Hernandez believes in the importance of community, more than just aesthetics and technique. “As a designer, I also take responsibility for my community. I have learned and imbibed this value from Bidibidi. From conceptualization, you have to be thinking already of your community: your suppliers, your artisans, your channels, up to your consumers. You factor them in every step of your creative and productive process.”

“Circular and sustainable fashion,” according to her, “starts with the community and should go back to the community.”

Bidibidi’s collection of bags never retrenched on the use of color. Vibrant blues, yellows, and magentas bloomed on the runways like the fresh flowers in her Baao farm or the community of women themselves that craft these bags by hand. There’s Intricate play on patterns achieved from surprising pairings of #BUHImianFabrics, denim discards and cutoffs, bangkuan grass made in standard codes by the house. The use of cheesecloth and linen lends a relaxed, casual appeal to the silhouettes. Various crochet techniques were utilized as a lesson on magisterial fiber arts, and her bestselling styles are updated with fresh new accessories.

She envisions a brand that is anti-fast fashion: “With the pieces I make, I am saying it out loud to the universe that fashion can be slow, sustainable and local.” There is global appeal to products that are crafted by hand. “The global appeal comes from making excellent products and the base of these products are local talents, local skills and craftsmanship and of course, local inspiration,” Bidibidi cites.

We may not be one of the country’s fashion destinations at the moment, But there is a renaissance happening in the image-nation/imagination of the region that is Bicol. We’re starting with our weaves, our traditions, our communities, our pursuit for global recognition. Jaq and Bidibidi are holding the fort to make conversations on fashion less esoteric and more orthodox, especially in a region where Fashion is both familiar and foreign. In Bicol where it hits differently, is it possible to talk about Fashion? Yes. Even more so to celebrate it.