Alser Lumawag's 2026 Collection Is a Tribute to the Filipino Journey Home

In 2025, Alser debuted his first collection, Please See Attached, as a finalist in the Bench Design Awards. The lineup drew heavily from his experience as an employee at a government-owned bank, where he was surrounded by fax machines, shredders, computers, and towering stacks of paper files. This imagery of a mundane office inspired his interpretation of workwear, expressed through deconstructed details and exaggerated utilitarian elements.

In many ways, the collection offered an early glimpse into his design ethos and introspective approach to fashion.

Kalbangan is a Hiligaynon term that refers to a main road, principal route, or passage. It is derived from the root word lábang or labangán, which denotes a passageway.

True to its name, Alser’s 2026 collection traces the journey home through his perspective.

After spending years working in Manila, he often finds himself thinking about his hometown. “Growing up in Guimbal, Iloilo, I know that returning to the province is not always easy,” he muses. “The journey can involve long hours of travel, overcrowded jeepneys, multiple modes of transportation, and walking along unpaved roads just to reach home.”

These familiar scenes also inform the collection’s campaign imagery. Models are photographed aboard a crowded jeepney and traversing an offbeat path before finally arriving at an ancestral home. Altogether, the visuals capture the arduous journey back to the province and the comfort that awaits at the end.

“Yet, no matter how tiring the journey becomes, there is a different kind of comfort in knowing that you are going back to the people who have always supported you,” he shares.

Alser sees the narratives of his work as part of a broader story about the Filipino working class.

“Many Filipinos leave their hometowns to pursue opportunities, work tirelessly to provide for themselves and their families, and look forward to the moments when they can finally return home,” he articulates.

“Through Please See Attached and Kalbangan, I wanted to explore both sides of that journey: the weight of working life and the longing for a place where we can rest and feel whole again.”

For the collection, Alser looks to objects and details he commonly encounters on his trips back home. Sako bags, for instance, inspire a patchwork of plaid fabrics, while voluminous cargo bottoms and an abundance of ribbon details introduce a mix of colors and textures to the lineup.

The collection also retains the hallmarks of ALSR’s design language, with repetition and deconstruction running throughout. Corduroy trousers receive an intentionally disheveled treatment, vibrant neckties are reworked into a top and a sling bag, and contrasting textiles come together in a boxy shirt.

“Despite [the] challenges [that comes with travelling home], I wanted the collection to reflect the joy and excitement of coming home,” he explains.

“It reflects my own experience of traveling home to Iloilo, while celebrating a shared Filipino experience: no matter how difficult the journey may be, there is always joy in finding our way back.”