Filipino-Canadian fashion designers unveil collections on West Coast runway

Patty Victorino and Joel Jhocson, both originally from Manila, Philippines, developed their fashion lines as part of their final project before graduating from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.  The two will be featured among 32 students in Wilson School of Design’s 2018 The Show April 19, 20 in Richmond, BC.

Victorino’s line, called Mak and Maya, celebrates her roots. When she visited Manila last year, she realized how much her Filipino roots were part of her identity. She thought it was a natural progression to base her collection around that cultural duality.

“Through my research and even just casual conversation with other Filipino-Canadian women, I’ve found that there was this large gap in Filipino representation in fashion, and really just how underappreciated the Philippines’ rich history is, especially in costume and dress,” she said.

Likewise, Jhocson saw that femininity in men’s apparel was lacking. He created KNEW, which challenges social norms by embracing characteristics derived from women’s clothing and channels those attributes into his fluid menswear line.

“It’s been four years, we’ve grown a lot, we wouldn’t be who we are today without each other. There’s just so much passion in my peers and we’re pretty proud of what we have accomplished so far,” he said.