From fetish to forever pieces
What I liked about Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2026 was the range. Having watched Ben Chan and his team work with independent designers for years, the collaboration itself was hardly news. What interested me this time was how differently the designers approached clothes while working within the same massive Bench universe, from veterans like Lucy Torres-Gomez, who has collaborated on and off with Kashieca over the years, and Proudrace, which has been collaborating with Human for eight years now, to the new kid on the collaboration block, Chris Nick Delos Reyes. Chris Nick did not disappoint.
There is something inherently sensual about denim when it is cut close to the body, and Chris Nick understands it instinctively. His collection took denim into early-2000s Americana, with sculpted proportions, sharp tailoring, star details, slogans, and the kind of body-conscious silhouettes that have always been part of his vocabulary. Then he mixed all that denim with tuxedo references and the fantasy of champagne, caviar and late-night supper clubs. It was a slightly improbable combination, which is probably why it worked.
When I asked Chris Nick what he wanted to make unmistakably his in the collaboration, he did not give me a fashion-school answer.
“Well, if I’m being honest, the Chris Nick aesthetic that I wanted to be clear in this collab was sex,” Chris Nick said. “Denim is, and always has been, a fetish of mine, hence the stars on the bum for when you bend over.”
The details reward a closer look, and there is a sense of humor in the collection that keeps it from becoming too serious about its own seductiveness. For me, the most successful part was that the scale of Bench did not erase the Chris Nick sensibility. This is a designer whose clothes have a very specific sexuality, and there was enough of that identity intact to make the collaboration feel genuinely his rather than a designer merely lending his name to a retail exercise.
Tough chic: Michelle Dee brings high-impact attitude to low-slung denim and cropped basics. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Dark denim drama: Max Collins wears tailored black denim and clean contrast stitching. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Tailored streetwear: Allen Ansay walks in structured light-wash denim layered over crisp collared shirting and a dark tie. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Tough chic: Michelle Dee brings high-impact attitude to low-slung denim and cropped basics. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Dark denim drama: Max Collins wears tailored black denim and clean contrast stitching. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Tailored streetwear: Allen Ansay walks in structured light-wash denim layered over crisp collared shirting and a dark tie. Photos courtesy of BENCH
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Chris Nick also understands the particular history of the partner he was working with. “When you think of denim in Manila, it’s automatically Bench,” he said. “In a way, it’s sort of like a mutual thing, like it was meant to be. It was genuinely a collaborative experience, and it’s absolutely mind-blowing to me that this partnership has become a reality.” His observation points to a shared history. Bench made denim an everyday Filipino staple long before Y2K became a nostalgia category, while Chris Nick has spent his career making familiar garments feel more sensual, polished, and mischievous.
Lucy Torres-Gomez took Kashieca in another direction, and her approach was equally clear. Her femininity is easy, graceful, and remarkably practical. She is interested in the woman wearing the clothes, which sounds obvious until you consider how much fashion is often designed around the image of the woman rather than the actual experience of being one. “I just want the lady to look and feel like a lady, beautiful in my clothes,” Lucy said. “I wanted to celebrate the female form by way of pieces that fall gracefully, are of good quality.”
That thinking carries through to the clothes. “Clean, elegant lines, beautiful cuts, clothes that you wear and not have to fidget with and tug here and there all throughout the day. Just easy dressing,” Lucy explained. She is also unusually specific about why she wants this kind of wardrobe. She still wears clothes she bought as a newlywed, buys a basic in several colors when she likes it, and thinks a wardrobe should consist of clothes that become favorites rather than clothes that accumulate because they were inexpensive or fashionable for five minutes.
“The real value of an item is the cost divided by the number of times you actually get to wear it,” Lucy said.
Old world glamour: Kashieca by Lucy Torres-Gomez delivers versatile silks, soft tailoring and romantic lace details designed for effortless daily wear. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Photos courtesy of BENCH
Old world glamour: Kashieca by Lucy Torres-Gomez delivers versatile silks, soft tailoring and romantic lace details designed for effortless daily wear. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Photos courtesy of BENCH
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Her collection was built around that principle. Tops and bottoms could be mixed and matched, allowing a relatively small number of pieces to create numerous outfits, including combinations with things already in a woman’s closet. The fabrics were part of the proposition, too.
“I am especially proud of this collection because we did not scrimp on the quality of the fabrics, but the price points are stellar,” Lucy noted. “Great value for money. Pure silk, linen, cotton.” Watching the fabrics move on the runway, you understood what she meant. “This is old world glamour, if I can just say that,” Lucy said. “Feels that way, too.”
Y2K streetwear: Human x Proudrace delivers graphic nostalgia, oversized attitude, and experimental construction to the runway. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Photos courtesy of BENCH
Photos courtesy of BENCH
Y2K streetwear: Human x Proudrace delivers graphic nostalgia, oversized attitude, and experimental construction to the runway. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Photos courtesy of BENCH
Photos courtesy of BENCH
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Human x Proudrace supplied a rougher, graphic take on 2000s street culture. Their “I LOVE U” capsule brought oversized grit and experimental construction to the runway, another expression of the Y2K vocabulary that ran through the show.
Denim essentials: Kai Montinola wears an oversized denim jacket over a cropped tank and gingham shorts. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Slogan tees: Kyle Echarri walks the runway in a graphic sleeveless tee. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Red varsity: Fyang Smith brings bold energy in a red letterman jacket and striped top. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Easy knits: Joshua Garcia wears a dark half-zip pullover and relaxed denim. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Denim essentials: Kai Montinola wears an oversized denim jacket over a cropped tank and gingham shorts. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Slogan tees: Kyle Echarri walks the runway in a graphic sleeveless tee. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Red varsity: Fyang Smith brings bold energy in a red letterman jacket and striped top. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Easy knits: Joshua Garcia wears a dark half-zip pullover and relaxed denim. Photos courtesy of BENCH
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Bench Originals brought the narrative back to the core brand, with slouchy denim, cargo cuts, varsity jackets, collared polos and graphic T-shirts, alongside Bench’s trademark celebrity roster, including Joshua Garcia, Kyle Echarri, Kai Montinola, JM Ibarra and Fyang Smith. On the Bench runway, star power and clothes have long been inseparable, making the show a particularly vivid snapshot of Filipino pop culture.
Translucent silhouette: Ina Raymundo brings drama to the runway in a corseted mesh top and sheer flowing skirt. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Strong lines: Kirk Bondad walks in olive lounge shorts and a bold silver chain. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Outdoor volumes: Gazini Ganados layers an oversized puffer jacket over a black sports bra and high-cut bottoms. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Lean tone: Oliver Moeller showcases athletic bottoms and a bold chest tattoo. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Translucent silhouette: Ina Raymundo brings drama to the runway in a corseted mesh top and sheer flowing skirt. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Strong lines: Kirk Bondad walks in olive lounge shorts and a bold silver chain. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Outdoor volumes: Gazini Ganados layers an oversized puffer jacket over a black sports bra and high-cut bottoms. Photos courtesy of BENCH
Lean tone: Oliver Moeller showcases athletic bottoms and a bold chest tattoo. Photos courtesy of BENCH
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Bench Active, headlined by Alden Richards, extended that conversation into technical dressing, with trail-inspired layers, utilitarian details, and outdoor references reflecting how athletic and functional clothes have become part of everyday dressing.
The real achievement of the show was how distinct the individual voices remained within a system as large as Bench. Chris Nick brought his particular sensuality to denim, using a familiar Filipino staple as a vehicle for his fascination with the body, while Lucy brought her own understanding of femininity to Kashieca, building a wardrobe around beautiful cuts, versatility, and clothes a woman can live in. Human x Proudrace brought another memory of Y2K, and Bench Originals and Bench Active showed the brand speaking in its own established vocabulary.
That, for me, was the pleasure of Holiday 2026. The collections came from the same Bench universe without being required to sound alike, and the designers were given enough room to bring their own obsessions, histories, and ideas about getting dressed into it. For a fashion collaboration, that is no small thing.
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