Antonina

For ANTONINA, the answer takes shape in Not Here, the brand’s Spring Summer 2027 collection presented at Manila Fashion Week 2026. Born from a personal need to pause, the collection reflects on the moments when life becomes consumed by work, movement, and the constant pressure of thinking about what comes next.

Not Here explores what happens when we allow ourselves to disconnect.

Every collection begins with a story. What personal experience, emotion, or cultural

reference became the starting point for the collection you're presenting at Manila Fashion

Week?

“Not Here” Spring Summer 2027 came from a very personal need to pause. I’ve been thinking a lot about the moments when we’re constantly working, moving, and thinking about what comes next, without really giving ourselves time to stop. The collection is about that feeling of stepping away for a while—to rest, disconnect, and simply not have to think about anything.For me, rest isn’t necessarily an escape. Sometimes, taking a step back gives you the space to rethink things and see where you want to go next. That idea also became part of the design process. 

“Not Here” is a shift for ANTONINA—a chance to step away from what we’ve done before and look at the brand through a different lens, exploring new shapes, techniques, colors, and quieter forms of expression.It’s also a meaningful collection for us because it’s our first full collection since my debut. In many ways, it feels like both a pause and a new beginning.

Your work contributes to the evolving narrative of Filipino fashion. How do you define your creative identity today, and how has it transformed since you first started designing?

I’ve always been a very personal designer. What drives me to create are my own feelings, experiences, and beliefs, and each collection becomes a way for me to tell a story or put those thoughts into something tangible.

Over time, I think I’ve grown into fully owning my own ethos as a designer. I’ve become more confident in creating from a personal place and letting the clothes carry the story. Today, I see each collection as a testament to where I am at a certain point in my life—a way of turning feelings and ideas into pieces that people can experience and, hopefully, find something of their own in.

Fashion is more than clothing—it's a reflection of culture, community, and individuality. What conversation or feeling do you hope your collection sparks once it leaves the runway?

I hope people can see that changing direction or taking a pause doesn’t mean you’re not moving forward. It can still be a form of progress. Whatever comes out of that pause, we should be able to own it and accept where it takes us. At the end of the day, we’re all human, and sometimes we just need to breathe, slow down, and give ourselves room to be.

Can you share a moment from the creation process that challenged or surprised you?

Whether it was a material, silhouette, collaboration, or unexpected breakthrough, we'd love to hear the story behind it.

This is the biggest collection I’ve done to date, so working with so many variables has been a big step for us. We’re dealing with unfamiliar fabrics, trims that aren’t readily available, and a lot of new processes. 

Beyond the making of the clothes, financing an entire collection is also a challenge—from production and manpower to overhead costs and branding.But we wanted to treat this collection as an important milestone for ANTONINA. Because of that, we really wanted to give it the time and effort it deserves and, as much as we can, show the best version of what we’re capable of.

Looking beyond this season, what do you hope your work contributes to the future of

Philippine fashion, and what legacy do you want your brand to leave for the next generation of Creatives?

I hope ANTONINA can contribute to Philippine fashion by showing that you can build a practice from something personal. I want to continue creating work that has a point of view, tells stories, and reflects where we come from without feeling like it has to fit into a certain idea of what Filipino fashion should be.

If people remember the stories, feelings, and ideas that the work gave them, I think that would be enough of a legacy for me. It shouldn’t necessarily be my name or the brand. I’d rather they remember the stories we’ve shared and the feelings we were able to leave through the work.