One-stop shop for PH products gets designer-led update
Oct 23, 2026
Filipino craftsmanship and creativity was on full display at the launch on Thursday of Kultura Atelier at SM Makati. The one-stop shop of the country’s largest department store chain is known for its wide range of Philippine-made products ranging from comestibles to clothes.
It is also a favorite shopping destination of returning Filipinos who want to take a piece of home back to their country of work. Many tourists also make a beeline to Kultura for souvenirs of their time in the tropics.
With the opening of Kultura Atelier, shoppers now have more options when an event calls for elevated Filipiniana. At the mini fashion show to mark the launch last week, the designers who were tapped to join Kultura’s roster presented pieces from their collection now available in store.
Daryl Maat showed updates to his playful redesign of the short-sleeved barong. Instead of traditional scrollwork or geometric designs, Maat’s features kid-style line drawings stitched in colored embroidery thread.
Former professional model Alvin Degamo of Wear Your Culture was wearing one of his own pieces that afternoon, a denim jacket with fabric insets featuring embroidery inspired by the Manobos of Mindanao. He said his pieces are limited because it takes time for the weavers to finish a panel and send it to him.
Degamo then sends the panel to Lumban, Laguna to be embroidered by sewers he has long worked with.
“I want to give the pieces from Wear Your Culture something more. Rather than use a woven panel as is, I have it embroidered or hand painted so the finished product stands out from others like it,” Degamo said.
Veteran Cebu-based designer Phillip Rodriguez has also thrown his hat into the retail shopping ring with Isla by Filippo. His elegant pieces shown that afternoon included a red terno ensemble with fabric that featured a solihya-like pattern.
Rodriguez also presented two black barong Tagalog that looked sleek and had a slimming effect.
Other brands and designers that are now part of Kultura Atelier include Fam Ph, Goodluck Humans, Harold and Harry, Jo-Rel Espina, Ken Samudio, Martin Uy, Rodolfo by Puey Quinones, Sari Lazaro, Tim Tam Ong and Zarah Juan.
The festivities that afternoon extended beyond the runway with a perfume bar by Tadhana Fragrance, and jewelry customization by Nazrea Pearls.
Kultura Atelier and Kultura at SM Makati still share the same space but the former consists mainly of designer apparel and fashion accessories while the latter carries home decor and food items.
In praise of the coconut
There are dozens of food and decorative items for sale this weekend at the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) National Trade Fair. This time the coconut is in the spotlight with a wide range of food items ranging from coconut leaf-wrapped suman and extra virgin coconut oil to beaded hanging lamps and Christmas decor made of the tree’s different elements.
As the second coconut-focused trade fair this year, the initiative highlights the versatility of the Philippine coconut industry through innovative products in food, wellness, beauty, textiles, home essentials and handicrafts.
The fair is open free to the public until Sunday and is a good place to jumpstart Christmas shopping.
Beyond showcasing local ingenuity, however, the fair opens doors for MSMEs and coconut farmer-beneficiaries to connect with institutional buyers, retailers and consumers, expanding their market reach and business opportunities.
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