Bench Fashion Week: Tactile textures and handcrafted genius are a breath of fresh air
When social media feeds were taken over by AI-generated starter packs and models, the first two days of Bench Fashion Week spring/summer 2025 signaled a rebellion—a call to appreciate all things handmade and the delight of what comes up when creatives think with their hands.
Ria Bolivar debuts at Bench Fashion Week—this time as a fashion designer for her four-year-old slow-fashion brand Reveri. Intentionally focusing on easy-breezy, “simple” silhouettes, as the designer herself describes them, Bolivar instead creates movement with handcrafted crochets of fringe and tassels inspired by dried leaves and other commonplace things in her provincial life. A quick change in styling is all that’s required to make them ready for the city. Bolivar has R&D’d herself with personal experience, jetting from Iloilo back to Manila for both Reveri or for modeling (like this season for Amato).
Maligaya Clothing Co. by stylist and fashion director Roko Arceo lives up to its name of spreading happiness with Filipino iconography interpreted in repurposed linens and vintage fabrics, creating a delightful geometric tablecloth-like patchwork of joy with Ang Kiukok and Amorsolo references.
Human collaborated with the artist Vico Cham in A Mind Like a Garden, experimenting with crochet headpieces blooming to life with floral accents, showing up in surreal prints of picnics in the brand’s signature boxy denims and cotton tees with bold graphic stripes. As Cham himself lives with autism, the collection is a step in Human’s mission to create inclusive spaces in fashion and to champion uniqueness.
Lady Gaga’s memorable Coachella 2025 performances come to mind at Amato’s collection of wearable art; Gaga, of course, is an Amato muse. Marking Furne One Amato’s homecoming to Cebu, his Birds of Prey takes flight with sculptural headpieces and bodices—jeweled, embroidered, and/or plumed completely from head to toe, with bold sleeves just like wings, celebrating every gesture.
Bench Club and La Vie En Rose had us feeling nostalgic for times some of us didn’t even experience. Layered stripes, letterman jackets, and weather-appropriate argyle at Bench Club on the next big names in entertainment like Robbie Jaworski (pictured) and P-pop sensation Hori7on all call to mind the exuberance and optimism of the ‘80s.
While vintage-inspired floral prints at La Vie En Rose have us reminiscing over summers gone by, its ageless fit and suppor—from comfortable push-up bikinis to flattering maillots with a bit of a cinch—makes us optimistic that more fun times remain ahead.
Jumping back to the futuristic present, Urban Revivo’s contemporary lineup of neutrals was texturally interesting with velvet frocks, visually so with timeless prints like polka dots and frills, and surprisingly diaphanous suiting that feels very Y2K.
It’s easy to get carried away with AI’s convenience, even if it’s for a few giggles, but it is joyful fashion like this that proves there is simply no replacement for human creativity, empathy, and discernment—and for all the real-life connections that stem and grow from it, even if it’s just from an interesting conversation-starting piece.
